[CRITICAL] AFTER THE STORM

The japanese Kore-eda, after upsetting Our little sister, comes back with After the storm, a piece of melancholy succeeded, but that leaves us with the mechanics of its author.

Stories of families and intimate, which draw their quantities in the very heart of human tragedy on a background of music pianotée now recognizable : no doubt possible, AFTER THE STORM is a film by Hirokazu Kore-eda. It will be necessary to wait a year after its curious presentation in Cannes in the parallel section, un Certain Regard, so that in 2015 Our little sister had enchanted a great part of the festival-goers. More than ever, his film stands in a tradition that advocates restraint and gentleness.

It’s just a plan to understand the whole of the substance ofAFTER THE STORM. A camera asked, innocently, on a train platform sees two trains pass each other. Their superposition will last only a moment, and the fleeting moment not see anything other than the continuation, solo, trip respective. It will be the same for Ryota, now divorced from Kyoko, but who refuses to turn the page. Unable to take care of her son, squandering the little money that he has collected, spying pathetically his ex-wife, Ryota is a dark “loser”. Kore-eda puts in place, on a first time somewhat shy, the foundations of a chronicle of a man tormented by his disappointment.

And then, at the same time that the typhoon hit the tip of her nose, the threat grows and the family were once happy must spend the night together. In this second part, AFTER THE STORM seems to be taking off and is a form of lightness, subtlety, and finesse that one acknowledges in his director. Very written, perfectly mapped, the film Kore-eda remains quite expected but terribly melancholic. And then that in the early morning, the first rays of sun chase away the last clouds AFTER THE STORM slides in the groove of the delicate camera from Kore-eda, where he simply must find the courage to let go of his dreams and seek some peace alone.

AFTER THE STORM slides in the groove of the delicate camera from Kore-eda Click To Tweet

But, should we recognise, also, that Kore-eda does not risk more than surprise us. Of the master, the worthy heir ofOzu’s no shortage. Yet, one could reproach him, like the iranian Asghar Farhadi, the eternal new beginning of a narrative that is as functional as it is effective. In recalling his favourite actors and his mise en scene, Kore-eda installs us comfortable in our habits and we look at it, always with so much admiration, of course, the beauty of his dramas, but there are monitors, also, the inner workings of a mechanical well-oiled machine.

Sofiane

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