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All of a Sudden review
Cannes film festival: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s ocean-hopping treatise on love and mortality is undeniably beautiful – but it works best in its quieter, compassionate moments rather than the flurries of self-conscious solemnity
TL;DR
- The film "All of a Sudden" by Ryusuke Hamaguchi is a three-hour drama exploring love and mortality.
- It is co-scripted by Hamaguchi and Léa Le Dimna, and is Hamaguchi's first film not set entirely in Japan, with settings in Paris and Kyoto.
- The story centers on Marie-Lou, a care home director in Paris, and her developing relationship with Mari, a Japanese artist with a serious illness.
- The film draws inspiration from the book "You and I: The Illness Suddenly Get Worse" by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono.
- Praised for tender and beautifully made scenes, especially compassionate moments with caregivers and patients, the film is also described as contrived, precious, and occasionally features too-good-to-be-true characters.
- Key themes include the "humanitude" care technique, critiques of capitalism, and the experience of serious illness.
- The film's realist set pieces depicting patients and their families are highlighted as particularly moving.