The storm makes the travelers stop. Maybe this is the time to think... This is the second work of Kraeda-san, which I watched at the Festival on the big screen (50th Festival of Japanese cinema in Moscow). Last year, I saw Umimati's Diary and was very impressed with his spirit. But unlike Umimati’s Diary, which tells about women, After the Storm is a film about a man’s trivial fate. Such types in Japan pond: a loser for forty, squandered all his life, lost the trust of his wife and lost the opportunity to often see his son.
In principle, such a character should not cause special sympathy. But, in the performance of Abe Hiroshi, he only attracts. The way he portrays a father, a son, a brother, a colleague. The way this role is filled with various nuances of the character of the hero, regrets of the writer-loser, lost and living hopes, humor, cunning resourcefulness of the player - all this gives his existence as the main character of the movie, meaning and interest. He wants to empathize, look for an excuse and root for him.
The way Ryota treats her mother (Kirin Kiki) is consumeristic, but certainly tender, like a child unable to exist without a mother’s affection, which, like a lifeline, evokes both resentment and a smile. She, in turn, is the apple tree from which this apple was born. Although Ryotu is mostly compared to his late father throughout the film, he has a lot in common with his mother.
An old cunning woman who cheers for her children and grandchildren, but is able to look at the world with irony. The way in the course of the plot, so unobtrusive, in the apartment are found things of the late husband, which she allegedly threw out immediately after the funeral, says a lot about her. She used to hide her true experiences, either because they were not interesting to anyone, or because she did not want to disturb anyone with them. Only once will she pay for all two hours of storytelling. She has little left in the world and wants her son to finally break the vicious cycle of his failures.
Maki Yoko played Ryota’s ex-wife, Kyoko. This look of an offended woman, which she shows us in the presence of her ex-husband, is a real masterpiece. To be honest, I even felt bad for Ryota because of her look. But she's easy to understand: Kyoko is also a typical divorced woman with the usual problems: unpaid child support, a child unwilling to find a common language with her new man, who struggles to make friends with her son (very clumsy and intrusive, I must say).
The boy (Yoshizawa Tayo), despite his mother’s attitude, treats his father very well and loves him. He's really good with his dad. Shingo shows by example how pure children are and how unobstructed their minds and hearts are by mundane, “adult” problems. He knows that it's Dad's fault and that Mom won't come back to Dad. But, it seems to me, he is one of those children who are able to decide for themselves how to treat a guilty father, he will not follow the lead of maternal grievances, soberly assessing the guilt of his father, but not abandoning him because of this guilt.
The boy, with the help of his grandmother, became that wonderful sunshine, which in a storm can reconcile his parents. This is certainly not the way to unify the scattered fragments, but certainly the beginning of something new for these wonderful ordinary people. After the storm, they will see everything in a new light.
In general, this movie is absolutely domestic. And, at the same time, a great work of director/writer Koreeda Hirokazu. Wonderful actors, a musical series that adds to the picture liveliness, a large number of details, such as frozen juice, smelling like a refrigerator, a tangerine tree, a cake on the altar, the novel “Empty Table”, the way Ryota collects interesting phrases of interlocutors to use later in his new novel, the grinding stone of the late father – all this creates a holistic interesting picture that makes seemingly ordinary everyday events a completely unique narrative.
This movie is an amateur movie anyway. Personally, I don’t watch a movie like this very often, but it’s definitely worth watching. It's very soulful and unifying. I'd even say cozy. There are many typical Japanese cinema discourses about the future and aspirations of youth, the meaning of life and lost opportunities, about family and relatives who will not return. I think this movie can teach you something. That is why it is so household, as close as possible to real life. So watch everyone!
