The film is set in 1908 and tells the story of Japanese immigrants who come to work on a coffee plantation in Brazil. There, they will need to adapt to the conditions and exploitations of the farm owners.[3] The film was shot in a scenographic city in Londrina, and in locations of Curitiba, Maringá, Foz do Iguaçu, Paranaguá, and Cambará.[4]
Plot
In 1908 Titoe (Kyoko Tsukamoto) arrives in Brazil, a Japanese coming to the country in attempt to get money from work and then return to Japan to be able to follow her life in the home country. In 1935, now with her daughter Shinobu (Nobu McCarthy, who died in 2002 during filming) born and without enough money to return to Japan, Titoe decides to buy her first plot of land in Londrina.
The Second World War, and its consequences for Japan end up further delaying Titoe's plans to return to the country, especially after Kazumi and Maria (Tamlyn Tomita), her grandchildren were born. Maria marries Gabriel (Jorge Perrugoría), son of a Spanish father and Italian mother, with whom he has two children: Yoko (Lissa Diniz) and Pedro.
The business of Gabriel is going well, until the seizure made by the Collor Government in 1990 leads to bankruptcy. Without alternatives, Maria and the children will live with Titoe while Gabriel embarks to Kobe, intending to work temporarily and raise money for the family.[5]
