The impossible mourning of a young Japanese woman after the death of her lover

The death of her lover leads a young woman to reconsider her entire existence.

Theatre director, In this second feature film, Takuya Katô tells the story of a woman plunged into depression after her lover was killed in a road accident. This film about mourning and marriage, carefully made with beautiful photography and committed actors, nevertheless fails to carry us away. Melancholy hits theaters on August 14.

Watako enjoys regular getaways with her lover Kimura. On the way back from one of these weekends at a luxury campsite, Kimura is hit by a car. A few days later, Watako learns that he did not survive the accident.

The young woman, who feels guilty for not having intervened for fear of scandal, resumes the routine of her daily life with her husband. Alone with a grief she cannot share, Watako has a hard time mourning this love brutally interrupted by death.

Will this drama destroy Watako’s marriage? This is the issue of this film that questions love and marriage. The young woman is sad to have lost her lover. She returns to the hotel where they used to meet, fleeing the marital home.

It seems that Watako’s affair with Kimura has its source in the misunderstanding and problems that the couple have been going through for some time. It is the meeting with the ex-wife of the deceased that will finally allow Watako to come out of her melancholy and free herself from a life that does not suit her.

The camera, from Takuya Katôwhich alternates between very fluid movements, like silent slides accompanying the main character, or beautifully composed fixed shots, without reverse shots, slowly captures the most intimate feelings of the character of Watako, accurately composed by the actress. Mugi Kadowaki.

The photo, very neat, with a cold dominance, plunges the viewer into an atmosphere that contrasts with the warmth that was imposed before the drama. This visual and sound atmosphere, atonic, accompanies the feelings of the heroine, as if lost in a thick fog.

But this torpor ends up contaminating the viewer. Screenwriter and director of Seven orificesa daring science fiction series currently streaming on Netflix, Takuya Katô fails to carry us away with this second feature film.

MDespite a truly cinematic look that immerses us in Japanese culture and highlights the rigid injunctions and codifications that govern human relations in the Land of the Rising Sun, we end up losing interest because the rhythm lacks undulations.

Gender : Drama
Director: Takuya Katô
Actors: Mugi Kadowaki, Kentaro Tamura, Shôta Sometani
Country : Japan
Duration : 1h 24min
Exit : August 14 2024
Distributer : Art House
Synopsis : After the sudden loss of her lover, Watako quietly returns to her married life, without telling anyone about the accident. When the feelings she thought she had buried resurface, she understands that her life can no longer be the same and decides to confront all her problems one by one.