Keswick Film Club - After The Storm

Synopsis

Last Christmas, we finished the season with 'Our Little Sister' - also by Hirokazu Koreeda. At the time, we said "Koreeda does not so much tell a story as allow small events in the lives of his characters to show us the way". Well, 'small events' got in the way when we tried to show this film at the film festival; the DVD wouldn't play! After several requests, we decided to show it again here.

"Hirokazu Koreeda has drawn comparisons to Yasujiro Ozu in the way he's not as interested in major plot twists or set pieces as he is in subtle human emotion, typically hinging on family dynamics" - Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

"No modern filmmaker has as sure a grasp on family dynamics as Hirokazu Koreeda" - Tom Huddleston, Time Out. In 'After The Storm', he concentrates on two people (played by Hiroshe Abe and Kirin Kiki; both of whom will be familiar to you from his previous films) - Ryota, who has made nothing of his life and regrets it now, and his ageing mother, Yoshiko. Ryota is a feckless character; he has given up trying to be a novelist and become a private detective. He gambles too much and has been divorced by his own wife, Kyoko, losing touch with his son, Shingo, in the process...and now his father has died. The storm of the title hits and he is stuck inside his mother's house overnight with Kyoko and Shingo while the wind and rain rage outside... Can he make amends to his family?

We hope you have a great Christmas and a happy New Year -see you all next season!