Written with Takamasa Oe, based on Haruki Murakami's short story of the same name and other stories from his 2014 collection 'Men Without Women'. It's a long, thoughtful, meditative, complex, immersive, fascinating and profound film, told without much humour, though when its sad protagonist Hidetoshi Nishijima offers a little smile, it's beautiful. He's a theatre director, rehearsing 'Uncle Vanya', the plot of which starts to reflect in the film itself, and he's being driven every day (in his Saab 900) by young Toko Miura, who I think never smiles - it turns out both have suffered an incredibly painful loss.
The opening tells a story about the director's relationship with his writer wife. Then 40 minutes in, we get the credits and the 'proper' film begins - a thought-provoking technique.
Watching the rehearsals is all very interesting as characters develop and inter-relate - they from different countries, don't all speak the same language, another point of difference (and in communication a theme of the film). In fact one of the actors Park Yu-rim is a mute Korean who signs her part, something you think will not work at all, but it makes for an incredible (almost) ending. (She's great.) Her smiley husband Jin Dae-yeon works at the theatre, Masaki Okada is the young actor who was in love with the director's wife.
Many long scenes are set in the car - the sound design is great - and very noticeable when they reach the girl's home town and the sound goes completely.
It posits that you can never really know anyone else and therefore you have to examine your own heart.
Photographed in and around Hiroshima by Hidetoshi Shinomiya, lighting by Taiki Takei (I know, it's a separate credit), edited by Azusa Yamazaki, music by Eiko Ishibasi.
It was Oscar nominated for Film, Director and Screenplay; won (and the BAFTA) for Best International Film; won Prix Du Scénario at Cannes; swept the Awards at the Japanese Academy. Partly I guess because it was set in Japan, it reminded me more than once of Lost In Translation, though it's a very different film.
Looking forward to seeing the director's Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy next.
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