![]() ![]() Unlike Jiro, Taeko is distraught, made anchorless by the loss of her child. ![]() ![]() Nagayama finely captures the vocabulary of Jiro’s heart: the responsibility he feels to Taeko, the cowardice that prevents him from telling her the truth about his last relationship with Yamazaki (Hirona Yamazaki), whom he cheated on with Taeko, and the anxiety and self-loathing that curdles his communication. Jiro straddles the line between his parents’ subdued reaction and Taeko’s overwhelming sadness: Having been married to Taeko for one year, he only knew Keita for a relatively brief - albeit intense - period. No longer tethered to their apartment across the courtyard from Taeko and Jiro, they continue their lives with little fanfare. Grief reveals the truths of this family as each member processes Keita’s death differently: Makoto and Akie decide to move to the countryside, making good on an early promise to themselves. Fukada portrays the child’s death abruptly, a reflection of how tragedy can so suddenly interrupt life. When Keita dies - he slips and falls into the bathtub still filled with water - the fissures in the relationship calcify. Although Akie tries to maintain peace as comic relief, Makoto’s off-hand jabs escalate into a tense exchange with his daughter-in-law. Makoto and Akie (Misuzu Kanno) struggle to accept Taeko because Keita is her son from a previous marriage. Keita laughs and signs that Jiro is rubbish.Ī shared language between mother and son sets them apart from Jiro, who communicates in curt “mhms.” When we meet the latter’s parents, the dividing lines become clearer. Taeko, through sign language, encourages Keita to play with his father. In another, Jiro, stationed at a stove while Taeko and Keita giggle over a game of Othello, complains that the boy never wants to play with him. Fukada establishes the jagged family dynamic carefully: In one scene, Taeko watches Jiro attempt to organize his colleagues into holding up balloons and signs spelling out “Congratulations” her gaze is void of affection. Fukada’s film tests that sentiment and explores it beyond romantic love, applying the promise to relationships between current lovers, former lovers and mothers and their children.Īt the start of the film, Taeko, Jiro and Keita are preparing for a celebration - a fête for Keita winning an Othello board game, which is actually a surprise birthday party for Jiro’s father, Makoto (Tomorowo Taguchi). The 1993 song deals in grand proclamations - “Whatever the distance between us, nothing can stop me loving you,” she croons at one point. According to press notes, Fukada heard the song when he was 20 years old and had been thinking about how to construct a filmic translation. Love Life is inspired by Japanese jazz and pop vocalist Akiko Yano’s song of the same name. Venue: Venice Film Festival (Competition)Ĭast: Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama, Tetta Shimada, Atom Sunada, Hirona Yamazaki, Misuzu Kanno, Tomorowo Taguchi ![]()
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