Koji Fukada emerged as one of the major voices of contemporary Japanese cinema through intimate dramas examining social alienation, fractured families and emotional repression but he has not always been a sure bet for Cannes with items finding themselves on the Lido instead. His breakthrough came with Harmonium (2016), which won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and pandemic year 2020 saw The Real Thing. land in Cannes 2020 Official Selection label. He was last in Cannes for a Cannes Premiere labeled premiere for Love on Trial. So not only is this his first time in comp, but this year is a special year with three Japanese auteurs in the race joining compatriots Hirokazu Kore-eda and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. Female interiority and solidarity outside the structures men built around women are present here. Nagi Notes follows two middle-aged women — sculptor Yoriko and Tokyo architect Yuri, former sisters-in-law — who reconnect over a few quiet spring days in the rural Japanese town that gives the film its name, each carrying the weight of a past they’ve never fully reckoned with — while some of those traits are mirrored in a pair of young boys. A Japan, Singapore, Thailand and France co-production. This is competition film #1 of 22.
As this is the first film in competition, it typically takes a full day for our critics to submit their scores and get into the thick of things. The world premiere took place this afternoon, and so far we are looking at a sub-par grade with an average score of 2.5 from only eight of critics. We expect for the numbers to drastically change.
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