Written by Belle McIntyre

Entering into the milieu that is the core of this intensely personal exploration of grief, acceptance and renewal is a mesmerizingly surreal experience. The relationship between Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a well-known theatre director, and his wife Oto (Reika Kirishima), a screenwriter is sketched out at the beginning of the film. It seems that Oto has vivid waking dreams after having sex and verbalizes them to Yusuke in a trance-like state of which she has no memory. It then falls to Yusuke to retell the stories to Oto which she can then use in her writing. It is some odd form of intimate collaboration which they share.

It is a terrible shock when she suddenly dies of a brain hemorhage while Yusuke is on his way home from work. He finds her lifeless body on the floor of the bathroom when he arrives home. It is after the death of Oto that the movie’s credits start rolling. (I was thinking that I might have walked into the film at the wrong time.) Then the film starts again two-years later. Yusuke is arriving in Hiroshima in his much-loved red Saab to guest direct Uncle Vanya where he is warmly welcomed and introduced to Misaki (Toko Miura), a young twenty-something girl who will be his driver. He protests at first but is informed that it is company policy and not negotiable.

Once he gets used to the idea and has a test drive he surrenders. Yusuke has been withdrawn and grieving for so long that the fact of sharing a small space for extended periods everyday is a jolt to his system. Misaki is as unassuming as possible and drives very well and they begin to get used to each other. In the car he listens to tapes of dialog from Uncle Vanya recorded by Oto. The production he is staging is experimental insofar as the actors will speak multiple languages including sign language. The layers of storytelling involving the theatre include the casting of a young handsome film actor Takatsuki (Masaki Okoda) rumored to have had an affair with Oto, as the much older character of Vanya and the deaf wife of the stage manager.

Based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, the leisurely unspooling of these various narratives, including the backstory of Misaki and her horrific childhood, the self-destructive behavior of Takatsuki, which takes him out of the picture and forces Yusuke to step into the Vanya role, which he knows intimately, fills the three hours without any dull moments. It has the feel of a life-altering roadtrip. There is a very ambiguous ending which I hesitate to interpret but which feels optimistic. I will leave it to the viewer. I loved every minute of it.

Photo edited by Nikhita Samala