'A Girl Missing' DVD: Shows Drama Is All Relative

The Film Movement DVD of the 2019 drama "A Girl Missing" is a prime (no pun intended) example of an easily overlooked movie that fills the need for quality viewing at a time that Covid has badly impacted the film industry and that most of us have exhausted streaming services fare. The separate social commentary in the form of the impact of guilt by association and tabloid journalism add substance to the style of this intriguing story. 

The artistry of "Girl" commences with the title referring to both an "innocent" and a woman who longs for a mutually meaningful connection. 

Our story centers around private-home nurse Ichiko, who largely has become one of the family regarding an elderly female patient. The moral as to not mixing business with pleasure relates (no pun intended) to Ichiko striking up a friendship/mentorship with her employer's teen granddaughter Saki. This leads to a study session in a restaurant. Ichiko's nephew Tatsuo showing up leads to the central drama.

Saki not returning from the girls' night out leads to a search that ultimately leads to discovering that Tatsuo abducted and raped her. Initially, the family does not blame Ichiko for those events.

The apparent desire of clearly desperate for attention Ichiko for 15 minutes of fame leads to her granting a scandal sheet an interview that changes everything. This lesson as to being careful about what you wish for begins with the paparazzi hounding Ichiko at work and at home. Her bizarre confession that she clearly considers confidential making the television news is a prime example of adding fuel to the fire. The ambiguity as to the evilness of that admitted offense contributes additional substance to the story. 

All of this leads to an overall expected conclusion that reflects the concepts of the sins of the father and the principle that the "help" truly never becomes a member of the family. 

Movement supplements "Girl" with the short film "Loves Comes Later" that is described as an undocumented motel employee making a life-changing decision. That one slipping through the cracks requires relying on the perfect Movement track record by assuming that it is must-see.