By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Starring: Jean-Charles Clichet | Kodai Kurosaki | Kyôzô Nagatsuka | Tao Okamoto | Virginie Efira
Original language title: Soudain
Year: 2026
Running time: 196
IMDB: https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt36834996/
Chris says: “What I said about Lee Chang-dong goes double for Ryusuke Hamaguchi as his latest deserves all the attention and acclaim of his breakthrough DRIVE MY CAR. Centered on a director of a nursing home in France (a superlative Virginie Efira), this illustrates the director’s comfort in working outside East Asia for the first time, though a transplanted Japanese co-lead (Tao Okamoto) enables him to translate this cultural background to another setting. Very few films fully get at the essence of life and human nature in such a refreshing but also familiar way. As with HAPPY HOUR and DRIVE MY CAR, the lengthy duration is key as feelings slowly accumulate and resonate until they crescendo powerfully at the end. 5 cats“
Michael says: “Wow, Hamaguchi sure is on a roll, and while his latest film seems very different from his previous few, there are some themes that recur, most notably the use of theater in his films, and society’s impact on the environment.
“One barometer of my love for ALL OF A SUDDEN is if I can spend 3 1/2 hours with the people on screen and I totally could. And there was one (of several) scenes that just blew me away; a quiet conversation on a ridge overlooking the city of Kyoto as the sun slowly rose. A beautiful film. 5 cats”