Director Hirokazu Kore-eda is that unicorn combination of prolific and consistent. His previous films, I Wish (2011), Like Father, Like Son (2013) and Our Little Sister (2015), were finely calibrated tales exploring the complex and often fraught relationships between parents and children in modern Japan.
In this gracefully unfolding offering, Kore-eda sets his action in Kiyose, a commuter city on the outskirts of Tokyo. Here, failed novelist Ryôta (Hiroshi Abe) attempts to reconnect with his estranged wife Kyôko (Yôko Maki) and beloved son Shingo (Taiyô Yoshizawa). Ryôta is a compulsive gambler, and takes advantage of his bereaved mother and sister with depressing regularity. His skewed moral compass further manifests itself when – using skills picked up in his work as a private detective – he starts spying on his ex-wife and her new partner.
However, Kore-eda’s gaze is empathetic, and amidst Ryôta’s atrocious behaviour, there’s genuine pain. Abe is a compelling actor, the lines on his face and permanent five o’clock shadow betraying a man despondent after falling on hard times. In addition, the subtle physicality of his performance is masterful. The shame he feels means he never quite meets anyone’s eyes in conversation, while his jealousy over his son’s relationship with his alpha-male stepfather is expressed with a slouching of the shoulders. Never before has an actor expressed regret so powerfully by simply digging into a rock solid frozen dessert.
Indeed, this scene is emblematic of the small disappointments and imperfections at the core of Kore-eda’s worldview. As an impending typhoon forces Ryôta to confront his failings, the director skips explosive climaxes for a quiet – though satisfying – emotional resolution; the result of a drama designed to slowly simmer.

Out now