Three homeless people in Tokyo find an abandoned infant on Christmas Eve. Gin is down and out because of issues with alcohol, and a wife and daughter that are no longer in his life. Hana is an ex drag queen, who has always wanted a child but can never have one biologically, and is not inclined to return the child to the authorities. Filling out the trio is an adolescent runaway, Miyuki, who is a young woman as savvy and street smart as the children in the slums of Brazil in the film City of God.

Using clues on a business card and a few photographs, they embark on a road trip around the city, to find the parents of the abanonded infant. When they are not helping others, they are trying to protect themselves from the Tokyo winter, and thugs who want to clean up the city by beating the homeless. On this journey of discovery they encounter many experiences, including witnessing a shooting. They also reconnect with old family members and make new friends. Heroism is even involved, as they save people from suicide, conduct daring feats from high buildings (a la Spiderman), help to reconcile a damaged marriage, and most importantly, show us the world through the eyes of the homeless. Most films look at the homeless from a loftier viewpoint, as they are passed on the streets of our cities.

Director Satoshi Kon also wrote and directed Millennium Actress, which like The Triplets of Belleville and this feature are films in animation format with adult content. If you’ve not seen adult animation (sometimes referred to as anime as it only very remotely resembles a cartoon), you are in for a treat. Just like books and recordings work in their own way to communicate thoughts and feelings, anime is to regular film like a color talking movie is to grainy black and white silent films. It’s so powerfully different that you have to experience it to understand it.