★★★★☆
THE latest subtly affecting drama from celebrated Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda tells the story of Ryôta (Hiroshi Abe), a private investigator and part-time novelist who has to deal with the death of his father while struggling to both provide child support to his ex-wife and reconnect with his estranged son.
It’s a simple story on the surface but with so much bubbling away underneath. Koreeda continues to show he has a beautiful way with everyday words, showcasing his keen ability to imbue the relatable ordinary with rich texture, truthfulness and quiet power.
He allows the drama to move at its own realistic pace, taking time to build and layer its themes, letting the most understated of facial expressions and body language to speak volumes amidst the authentic dialogue.
Events unfold in a natural fashion that feels both comfortable and surprising. We steadily discover that there’s a more reckless side to Ryôta than first meets the eye; he’s willing to bend the rules at his job to earn extra money to fuel his gambling habit and use his investigative powers to keep tabs on his ex-wife’s new lover.
He keeps his true nature hidden from his widowed mother who’s living a quieter suburban life from which he’s simultaneously trying to escape and feels eternally linked. Koreeda regular Abe (Still Walking, I Wish) is brilliant at conveying the conflicted nature of this flawed, very human character as he wanders through his suddenly very complex life.
Through him the film deals with the idea of being stuck in present circumstances in the face of dreaming about what and who you could be, as well as dispensing living in the past for appreciating the moment. “Missing him after he’s gone will not bring him back,” says Ryôta’s mother Yoshiko (a soulful Kirin Kiki). “You have to deal with people while they’re alive.”
Set to a wistful and melancholic score, we wade into these complex and delicately emotional waters that are brimming with humanity, sincerity and insightfulness about fatherhood, masculinity, personal responsibility, grief in adulthood and trying to clear life’s many hurdles.
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