The The Sketch of Life (2019) was a pleasant little surprise. I think I found it under the recommendations on Amazon Prime while looking at another movie. It’s super low-key and I am guessing that this was probably a TV movie in Japan, but I am not certain of that.
The Sketch of Life tells the story of a Ryota (Sato Kanta), a young man with dreams of becoming a manga artist. He’s basically been kicked out of his home and living with another aspiring manga artist whose ship finally comes in and leave Ryota without a place to live and feeling hopeless about a future drawing.
He tries to go home but finds his Father still angry about his choices and quickly chases him out of the family restaurant. Ryota then tries to crash at his grandmother’s house. His grandmother isn’t home and startles a young woman (Fujimoto Izumi) staying there.
Mistaken for a burglar, Ryota flees again.
After finding a place to stay and desperate for work, he begrudgingly takes a job at a local zoo and runs into the young woman, named Aya, who was at his grandmother’s house. She works at the zoo too. Only in the movies!
This is all the setup for what is a basically a predictable and pleasant watch as family bonds are tested, grandmother’s health issues come to the surface, romances blossom, and Ryota tries to figure out what to do with his life as the zoo struggles to keep its funding.
It’s all very easy going and it was just the right speed for me the day I stumbled upon it. The conflict and melodrama is really low which was a nice change of pace. No villains. Just a likeable cast and a simple message that might inspire you.
Give this one to watch when you’re in the mood for something upbeat and positive.
Cinematic Point Of View 
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