LFF 2016 REVIEW - AFTER THE STORM (KOREEDA HIROKAZU)

The past filters into the present, indeed even becomes it, in Koreeda Hirokazu's After the Storm, sifting through how we come to define ourselves in direct relation to our heritage and our expectations. Koreeda organically constructs one of those second-half awkward shut-in devices, designed to purge that which its characters insist on concealing and thus reconfiguring their outlook upon life; his technique is typically subtle, intelligent and legitimate in the corresponding construction of both theme and character. His staple elements are all present and correct, and put to particularly productive use in this personal, original story: food and drink defining or complimenting the mood, or reflecting it; expressive, economical framing in static shots that permit the on-screen action the ability to create its own shape and movement; gentle, telling friction in cultural and generational divisions. The more laidback, meandering, non-contrived Koreeda's narrative, the more these details acquire their intended strength, here rooted in the diegesis of After the Storm. With respectful commentary on different perspectives in class, age and gender, Koreeda forms one of his finest analyses yet of the contemporary Japanese conundrum of how it integrates its past into its present, ever struggling admirably, though with little evident strain, to conceive fitting solutions. Per each person in its main ensemble, Koreeda shapes this analysis around who we wanted to be, expected to be, wish we were and might someday actually become, and also what we take from and give to those closest to ourselves, intentionally or otherwise. With generous humour, and great skill in creating a sense of plot through simple character development, After the Storm is one of the most successful distillations of this great filmmaker's artistic and societal concerns to date.

LFF 2016 PREVIEW: AFTER THE STORM

'A characteristically gentle, affectionate and wryly amusing domestic drama from Hirokazu Koreeda'

Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound

'It's hard to think of another filmmaker who maps the emotional landscape of divorce-torn families as precisely as Kore-eda'

Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times

'[Kore-eda] remains one of the best filmmakers the world has'

Bilge Ebiri, The Village Voice

There's pretty much no getting past Koreeda Hirokazu as a director. Are there any others who command such a faithful following in the international arthouse community, in such large numbers, and do so with such a commercially viable style? And who manage such a feat making roughly a film a year? Keeping up with Koreeda is an easy task for film fans, however, given the consistent quality of his output. The latest is After the Storm, which opened at Cannes to typically good reviews in May and will make my LFF 2016 programme next month. The drama about a fuckup father trying to rebuild relationships with his family stands a firm chance at being one of my fest favourites this year.

REVIEW - OUR LITTLE SISTER (KOREEDA HIROKAZU)

A typically observant, engrossing insight into contemporary Japanese culture from Koreeda Hirokazu. Our Little Sister breaks little new ground for the filmmaker, though showcases his skill for dramaturgy with its unforced adaptation of Yoshida Akimi's Umimachi Diary. The source is an ideal one for Koreeda, though perhaps all too ideal - it brings out the good in him, but not the great, aligning as it does too closely to his usual themes, discouraging any expansion from them or experiments away from them. Our Little Sister plays like recent Koreeda through and through, and the jolt of inspiration that this story's alternative origin ought to have provided never materialises. Koreeda hews to this inherited, yet wholly familiar, style and tone throughout, also employing the structure of Yoshida's manga, despite its episodic nature and cathartic content making for unfriendly bedfellows when presented on the screen. Nevertheless, one never questions the quality of the filmmaking, so secure is Koreeda here in the process of examining family life in present-day Japan. Cultures developed over decades, disrupted, disturbed and preserved, clash in expectedly harmonious fashion, the dramatic tension they engender simmering away through every scene of this most perceptive film. In his national cinema at least, nobody today knows character like Koreeda, due to the fact that nobody today knows relationships, particularly inter-generational and/or familial relationships like Koreeda. It's not only there in the writing, but in the charming acting, and in the effective shot compositions. And whether any of this will be new to fans of this filmmaker or not (and I suspect not), there can be little doubting this: the cherry blossom bike ride is the most joyous scene in any film this year.

UK TRAILER FOR OUR LITTLE SISTER

It's taken an age for Koreeda Hirokazu's Our Little Sister to make the normally swifter journey from Official Competition at Cannes to UK and Ireland theatrical distribution. But here's the trailer for territories in the British Isles, announcing its impending arrival both in cinemas and on demand on the 15th of April. The film has been warmly received by critics, if not entirely as enthusiastically as other recent Koreeda works.