“I’ll fly in my own way.”  

University senior, Tomoko Miura longs to be a film director but help is in short supply as her curt attitude and selfishness pushes people away. Driving her is an inferiority complex linked to her recently-deceased “perfect” older sister. Fed up with failure, Tomoko decides to “retake” her life as if it were a movie. The next take will start with a leap from a bridge…

Ask for the Moon plays out like It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) by way of an unhinged wannabe-movie director who gets repeated takes on her life (and death). It goes through multiple iterations of suicide and supernatural intervention to push a tale of self-discovery with a slight mystery and it has a visual playfulness and boisterous acting that undercuts the darkness and poignancy that dog the film through its rough, though sympathy-earning, lead protagonist. [Jason MAHER]