By Roger Costa
Looking through varied things found inside a drawer, a man finds some lottery tickets, which recalls memories of his childhood. This simple fact is perhaps the main element to link the past and the present, winnings and losses, reunions and separations in director Hirokazu Koreeda’s new film. The tickets represent many aspects in the life of Ryota, the wanderer protagonist. First he’s desperately in search of funds to maintain his life style, habits and child support duties; they also connect him to understanding himself, a direct influence from his relationship with his father, as well as keeping him hopeful for better bright easy days. Ryota is an unsettled novelist, who also acts as a detective for adulterous cases, claiming to be for research for his next book, but in fact, he’s playing tricks and advantages in order to maintain his compulsive gambling behavior. He’s back home, after his father passes away, and spends time discussing the essentials of family bonds with his mother, who’s extremely glad with his visit, but also aware of her son’s financial circumstances, secret intentions and profound loneliness. He finds a way of making his sister looks suspicious, just to avoid her presence in the house, as she confronts him with his faults and unresolved grown-up matters. He is also back in town because he must finalize a lucrative investigative job, where he benefits from a husband and his wife, and also to have his once-a-month encounter with his son, a smart kid struggling with his parents’ separation.
Ryoto is not sure of himself, he’s insecure, he’s a kid in the body of a man, he has written a book, but isn’t certain of his talent or competence. He finds relieve in his games, buying the lottery, a habit he gained from his father, as constantly mentioned by his mother, the woman who carries the soul of the film, she has endured and supported so many, and won’t surrender to any obstacle that could put her family’s harmony at risk, despite any of their unsolved issues. She is the one who understands like no one-else what really moves Ryoto’s and her daughter’s actions as well as trying to stick together to her estranged grandson and his young mother. Her deeply sensitive observations are revealed as she describes the way her daughter writes, how she waters the plant that belonged to Ryoto, how a butterfly followed her as she walked in the park, the preparations and updates on the stormy season, and the remarks on her late husband and ironic perspectives on her children’s faults. Probably the most insightful director in contemporary Japanese cinema, Koreeda has become a master of family investigations. He’s been developing a unique aesthetic within the years, completely delicate, profound, and devoted to the study of members of a family and their reactions to various sentiments and challenging circumstances. Trying on a slight change, Koreeda turns his lenses to Ryoto, mostly studying the male figure, but also extracting important and revealing facts from the feminine perspectives, as well as the young son’s, including his need of acceptance and assurance. He also narrates the story with a cynical tone, giving it aspects of a soft comedy, creating moments of laughter and joy, which is richly enhanced by its naturally beautiful and truthfully uplifting dialogues and interactions among the characters, especially those feel-good conversations between Ryoto and his mother, and the eccentric comments of the neighbors.
An Official Selection at Un Certain Regard in Cannes, and winner of Best International non-released Film at the Film Critics Society Awards, AFTER THE STORM is a marvelous, good-humored exploration on childhood, manhood, familyhood, and a contemplative analysis on the basic rules of life, including joy, pain, forgiveness and death. To make it short, it is Koreeda’s latest masterpiece, the first 5-stars film of 2017, one that should go straight to the list of this year’s best foreign films.
AFTER THE STORM (A Film Movement Release. Opens Friday, March 17th at IFC Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in NYC and other cities.)
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