Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2014
Koji Fukada is seen by many as the crème de la crème of the young Japanese filmmakers. His Hospitalité picked up the Japan Eyes award at the 2010 Tokyo International Film Festival (despite being overtly racist in this reviewer’s opinion) and Hotori no Sakuro his third feature, has been receiving plaudits around the world. An homage to late French master Eric Rohmer, the piece is a meandering July-August saga set in a beachside town. 18-year-old Sakuko (Fumi Nikaido) and her aunt Miki (Mayu Tsuruta) return to the latter’s hometown so the teen can study for her college entrance exams and Miki can finish translating an Indonesian novel. Ne’er-do-well Ukichi (Kanji Furutachi), an ineffectual hoodlum who now manages a love hotel, starts dropping by often and hints at past affairs with Sakuko’s mother and Aunt Miki. As Sakuro gets into the rhythm of life in the town, she is charmed by Ukichi’s nephew Takashi (Taiga), and starts exploring the environs. Leisurely and realistic, these strengths are also the film’s weakness as it drags and wanders into boredom and the realizations don’t pack enough punch. Subplots around Ukichi’s daughter Tatsuko (Kiki Sugino), a visiting academic she hooks up with, and Takashi’s flight from the Fukushima disaster occasionally add flavor but also sometimes detract focus. Good fiction films show us reality heightened to the point of insight, but this film could use some more intensity. International title: Au Revoir L’eté (125 min)
