After the Storm (2016)

In Hirokazu Kore-eda’s wry, poignant family drama, a writer tries to reconnect with his ex-wife in an emotionally clumsy if ultimately heartfelt attempt to prove his worth to his son.

Hiroshi Abe – who also appeared in Kore-eda’s sublime 2008 film, Still Walking – is Shinoda Ryôta, an inveterate late bloomer still resting on his laurels fifteen years after the publication of his first – and only – novel. In the wake of his father’s death, Ryôta tries to reconnect with his ex-wife in an emotionally clumsy if ultimately heartfelt attempt to prove his worth to his son, Shingo. When a typhoon forces the three of them to spend the night at his mother’s apartment, it offers a rare chance for an attempted reconciliation.

Kore-eda regular, Kirin Kiki (Our Little Sister, Shoplifters, Sweet Bean) steals plenty of scenes as the impish Yoshiko, Ryôta’s forgiving and generous-spirited mother. After the Storm premiered in Un Certain Regard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

– Roberta Ciabarra - Curator, Film