Après la tempête

Koreeda always knows how to make deep character portrayals that are calm on the surface but roiling underneath.

After The Storm is an absolutely brilliant film, as it deals with the trials and tribulations of a father & perceived loser in the face of challenging life circumstances. Hiroshi Abe plays the role of Shinoda Ryota, a detective that is financially broke, divorced and living in the illusion of his past glory as an award winning author. He struggles to make ends meet and often resorts to gambling, stealing and backhand deals that involves extortion in order to support himself and to pay child support for his only son, Shingo.

Another eye-catching performance to look put for is by Ryota's mom, Yoshiko, played by Kirin Kiki. She absolutely nails the role of a bewildered, lonely and regretful single grandmother, often dwelling on the unfortunate circumstances of the past and blaming her late husband for how her son turned out. She provides most of the comedic moments in the movie, as her tendency to be over-bearing and cheapskate at times, will make you giggle in the very least. She also seems obsessed and resigned to the idea that she will die alone, hence she keeps requesting her son & daughter to keep her company as much as possible. On top of that, she also harbors the faint hope that her son can be re-united with his ex-wife, and tries to set them up to sleep together during a night of storm.

Overall, the theme of After the Storm is dealing with the present circumstances in the face of unrealized dreams and broken hopes. This theme is strong in the characters of Ryota and Yoshiko. Additionally, Ryota's ex-wife, Kyoko (played by Yoko Maki) also plays an important role as she embodies the person whom manages to focus her life solely in the present times. Whilst Ryota still perceives himself as the father responsible for Shingo's journey through his current childhood phase, Kyoko has moved on and has accepted the fact that Ryota was never cut out to be a responsible father. She has even found a new boyfriend and except for the monthly visit, would rather Shingo not be spending time with his actual dad.

What really catches the eye about this movie, is that even in a fully developed country like Japan, with is high standards of living and apparent high-culture, there exists people like Ryota; someone who is left behind by the fast-moving economy and rebels against the norm of participating in the corporate rat-race to succeed career-wise. He can be pictured as someone who is very defensive whenever questioned on his life choices and habits. However, just like a starry-eyed young graduate, Ryota had dreams of his own for a stable government job, which somehow never came to be. However, the pride in him never dissolves, as the once Award-winning author still feels he deserves recognition for his past work.

Kore-eda is a renowned Japanese director for personable family dramas. His work in 'Still Walking' and 'Like Father, Like Son' (although yet to see) prove he is a capable writer when dealing with common family experiences. Marital woes, grief, father and son relationships. The list goes on. This being my first Kore-eda experience, I was unsure which angle to approach this blistering drama with. Regardless, no matter how I set my mind, it was an evocative and multi-layered drama with a masterful level of maturity. A novelist turned private detective, who is struggling for money due to a gambling addiction, coincidentally finds himself stuck at his mother's house overnight when a typhoon hits Japan. At the time the storm hits, his ex-wife and son are also there and spend the night within this claustrophobic environment.

Metaphorically speaking, the typhoon is a vivid representation of the estranged behaviour from both Ryota and Kyoko. Their differences splitting the family apart with such velocity. Yet, there is no hatred. No malice. And that is what I adore about Kore-eda's approach, it doesn't conform to typical clichés. He treats the audience like adults and executes a realistic family drama without needing any overly dramatic plots. Just two characters talking, with personable dialogue that has a surprising amount of wit, attempting to reconcile their differences for the betterment of themselves and their son. The storm acts as plot device for Ryota, allowing him to use the natural disaster to bond with his son. Then, once it subsides, life continues. A profound statement for most families.

Kore-eda explores various areas of urban Japanese culture, especially gambling and poverty, that enables this drama to be multi-layered. But what really cemented his masterful screenplay was just how it personal it was to him. Immediately the characters are bursting with dimensionality, enabling us to invest the time into their stories. Whilst also dealing with the scope of life, by indicating that "grown-ups cannot live only with love". A fascinating character study of a man who's personal ambitions get in the way of living life now. Though the narrative structure is not as fluid as the rain pummelling down from the storm, due to the abrupt transition between the first half before the storm and the second half, it still remains a rigid story.

This is helped by Abe's resourceful performance which was incredibly nuanced. Ryota is a complicated character, and Abe executed his complexions with ease. The late Kiki also gave a noteworthy performance as his mother, offering various lessons on life as she attempts to fix broken bonds within her family. Yamasaki's cinematography was gorgeous, cleanly enveloping you in Japan's natural and urban beauty. Kore-eda also frequently utilised long takes of unedited dialogue exchanges which subconsciously draws you into the drama.

Another small criticism would be the underutilisation of Kyoko's new boyfriend, whom of which could've been used more effectively to display her inner conflict for starting a new family or mending the existing bonds for the sake of her son. Small nitpicks here and there for what is a genuinely mature drama that felt both personal and personable, bolstered by sterling performances and a valuable screenplay. Am excited to see what Kore-eda has in store for us in the future. Oh, and bonus points for showcasing 'Taiko No Tatsujin' (I frickin' love that game...).

I bet we all can find the shadow of the underachieved protagonist in ourselves, as chances are really slim in materializing one's aspirations in the cruel reality. There he is: down-and-out both in career and mariage, scraping by through blackmailing strangers, yet always managing to squeeze a complacent smile on his face when meeting his family. You would presume he is leading a hopeless, listless, even miserable life, but the means by which the Japanese director narrates the story also attached a rather warm hue to the banal life of the man. In the end, what do we know about life without living it through ourselves?

Most films these days do not have something to 'say' anymore. They don't have a deeper meaning. And if they do, it's mostly superficial or so complex you don't really understand. 'After the Storm' by Hirokuzu Kore-eda has something to say, it's like a condensed moment of life. You will be dumbstruck by it's beauty.

The story deals with Ryota, struggling with financial problems, and trying to keep contact with his son after divorcement. He works as a private detective, spying on affairs and looking for lost cats while his real passion lies in writing literature.

The entire film is built around a central story part where they take shelter from a taifun, it involves scenes of such profound beauty, you will be moved to tears. The beauty lies in the things that are not spoken out, yet linger in the air like rain: the missed opportunities to be happy, love gone by and yet - still there.

To say the film deals with abandoned dreams in the face of reality is wrong, it's the contrary. The film says: If you keep waiting for beauty in life, you will not realize that it has already arrived. Just not the way you thought it would.