After the Storm

After the Storm

Hirokazu Kore-eda is known to be similar with Yasujiro Ozu because both are not interested in major plot twists or set pieces but in subtle human emotion, especially that of the family. Those three films are “Nobody Knows,” “After Life” and “Still Walking” (which are also among his best works ever) where he turns the camera into a window: we look through it and see people just like us on the other side, never through manipulation or cliché.

He once again achieves truthfulness and dramatic tension from common actions when he made this quite touching feature named ‘After The Storm’. In After The Storm he paints them as complete individuals who live their lives by their own principles.

This time around however, it’s about a man who can’t live for now; always longing for what he lost already or dreaming about what he hasn’t gotten yet which is killing him. We’ve all been there before; swam deep into regret and came out doubtful of tomorrow. It’s just one of those days when nothing seems right; even though everything looks fine outside but inside everything feels wrong somehow In my opinion After The Storm still ranks up there with some great movies by our greatest directors.

Ryota is the type of person who gifts his mother money then begs some from his sister. He has an intense desire to impress those he loves and mistakenly views material possessions and cash flows as love and attention. Watch how he doesn’t eat at dinner with his son he can’t afford it and misses a golden opportunity to bond with him by grilling the boy about Mom’s new man.

Hiroshi Abe gives one of the finest performances in any Kore-eda film, perfectly directed by the filmmaker himself. He has a face like a hangdog: eyes that won’t meet yours easily, hair uncombed, face unshaven. But we also see the good guy beneath life’s apparent weight.

Or maybe that should be “supposed” weight. Cheesy though it may sound, After the Storm made me rethink some of my own fears and self-doubts. There are so many things in life that only matter because we think they do so much; Kore-eda reminds us nothing matters more than where you are right now, especially if you’re with your kids. He’s been essential for this aspect of one of Roger’s most famous quotes his definition of movies as empathy machines for the past couple decades, few know how to operate said machine better or more subtly than him.

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