After the Storm (Hirokazu Koreeda)

[Peng]

[Peng]

My favorite of Koreeda's last three films. He still directs with an unhurried, soothing, and naturalistic touch, which can get unwieldly and long-winded a bit in the past. But this time, his characters have heavier temperament and sharper edges than usual; their livelier drama not only deals with the presence but also has a huge shadow of their painful past hovering over them, lending the film's poignancy a real thornier heartbreak.


It also helps that in a film about family dysfunction and legacy told through three generations, each generation contains an absolutely stellar performance for its character, be it Taiyo Yoshizawa as the receptive but watchful young son, Hiroshi Abe as the deadbeat dad having a hard time moving on, and, especially, Kirin Kiki as Abe's aging mother. She lets her character's regret and dream come across so movingly, while still maintaing an absolutely authentic portrayal of a warm, charming, playful grandmother type many will be familiar with.