December 3, 2021
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Written by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe (adapted from Haruki Murakami's short story in the 2014 collection, "Men Without Women")
Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) was invited to Hiroshima to direct a unique production of Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" with a very diverse cast. Aside from Japanese actors, there was a Chinese Yelena, a Filipino Serebryakov (Perry Dizon) and a mute Sonya (using Korean sign language). An impassive woman Misaki (Toko Miura) was assigned to chauffeur him to and from the house provided to him, which was an hour away from the theater.
Eventually, Kafuku and Misaki would open up to each other and share the deepest secrets in their lives. Kafuku's wife Oto (Reika Kirishima) wrote scripts for a television series, but she had a very bizarre method of coming up with her plots. He was haunted by her sudden death two years ago from a cerebral hemorrhage. On the other hand, Masaki was haunted by the death of her mother from a landslide which destroyed their house.
Aside from the prologue and scenes showing rehearsals and the final performance of the play, this film mostly consisted only of lengthy, sober conversations exchanged in the confines of Kafuku's old car. mesmerizing quality that kept us riveted, even when Hamaguchi never resorted to showing flashbacks of the stories being told. Nishijima, Miura, and Masaki Okada (as the young actor playing Vanya Kōji Takatsuki) all gave affecting performances. 9/10.
Directed by: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Written by: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Episode 1: Magic (or Something Less Assuring). Tsugumi (Hyunri) was talking about the new boy she just met to her friend Meiko (Kotone Furukawa), who realized that he was Kazuaki (Ayumu Nakajima), her ex-boyfriend.
Episode 2: Door Wide Open. Sasaki (Shouma Kai) asked his "friend with benefit," a married woman Nao (Katsuki Mori) to go and seduce and scandalize Segawa (Kiyohiko Shibukawa), his French professor who failed and humiliated him.
Episode 3: Once Again. Natsuko (Fusako Urabe) and Aya (Aoba Kawai) get to talking after they randomly met on the street 20 years after high school. Soon, they realized that each was not the woman they thought she was. They role play with each other in order to get long-suppressed feelings out.
There was not much physical action here at all. The three episodes of this film consisted of just conversations of depth and intensity between imperfect characters. All the dramatic situations were all unfamiliar and uncomfortable (especially Episode 2), but you can't afford to miss a single word in any of the dialogues. Fascinating character studies all, each episode was interesting and provocative. 8/10.
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