DRAMA:
A formerly successful novelist tries to reconnect with his ex-wife and young son in this affectionate, shrewdly observed drama of family life from Japan’s unassuming master, Kore-eda Hirokazu (Our Little Sister).
Ryoto (Abe Hiroshi), now working as a private detective to support a serious gambling habit, is trying to get back into the good graces of his ex when they are stranded together at his mother’s home during a typhoon. As sweet as a ripe cherry at first glance, it has a rocky pit, as viewers who bite deeply will find out.
“This bittersweet peek into the human comedy has a more subtle charm than flashier films like the director’s child-swapping fable Like Father, Like Son [NZIFF13] but the filmmaking is so exquisite and the acting so calibrated it sticks with you.” — Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter