Olympic Dreams--Shodo Girls

I don't think "shodo" is going to be an Olympic sport anytime soon, but it was interesting to see a local cultural art framed as a competitive sport, while also showing how these old manual arts are disappearing from the youth culture of many countries.  Perhaps Olympics host countries can showcase a lost art like this one instead of always looking into what is up and coming.

Based on real events, shodo is a Japanese calligraphic art, where calligraphers write mottoes or poetry in beautiful brush script. This craft is on the decline. A high school girl, Satoko, who belongs to the school's calligraphy club, tries to generate interest in this ancient art as she can see for herself that the town needs a boost due to the poor economy. They are assigned a new school advisor, but he is flashy, which doesn't equate with her sense of what the classical art should be.

Other club members and their families are shown. This is a paper mill town, and many families' livelihoods are dependent upon the trade. One boy's grandfather is despondent that his handcrafted high-quality paper is passed over for the mass produced products one can find in an office supply store. Another girl's father owns an arts supplies store that no one shops in anymore. Many other shops are closed due to the economy and the results of global trade. Another girl, a former friend of Satoko whose single mother is ill, hides that fact and tries not to let on that she can't attend college and must find work instead.

Satoko, desperate, forms a contest where school calligraphy clubs can compete in a flashy competition involving dancing and splashy motifs. (Similar to those big cheerleading competitions we have here in America.)
In a sense this is a sports underdog film, where the advisor doesn't really teach them the sport but about life and friendships. It's also a sort of coming of age as Satoko and her friends are forced to mature and deal with adult responsibilities due to the family problems they all have. It got a little sappy at the end for me though, but still an interesting view of something about Japan that I didn't know about before. Although I know Japan probably appreciates these old crafts more so than countries like the U.S., it is a little sad to see they are falling by the wayside, but a little uplifting to see that there are still some young people that care about them, even if it is in a fictional portrayal.