After the Storm (2016)

After the death of his father, a private detective struggles to find child support money and reconnect with his son and ex-wife.

Director:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Writers:

Hirokazu Koreeda (original story), Hirokazu Koreeda (screenplay)

Stars:

Hiroshi Abe, Yôko Maki, Satomi Kobayashi

2 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hiroshi Abe	...	Shinoda Ryôta
Yôko Maki	...	Shiraishi Kyôko
Satomi Kobayashi	...	Chinatsu Nakashima
Lily Franky	...	Yamanabe
Sôsuke Ikematsu	...	Kento Machida
Yuri Nakamura
Kazuya Takahashi
Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Taiyô Yoshizawa	...	Shiraishi Shingo
Rie Minemura
Izumi Matsuoka
Kanji Furutachi
Daisuke Kuroda
Shôno Hayama	...	High school student
Ryôko Tateishi

Storyline

Dwelling on his past glory as a prize-winning author, Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) wastes the money he makes as a private detective on gambling and can barely pay child support. After the death of his father, his aging mother (Kirin Kiki) and beautiful ex-wife (Yoko Make) seem to be moving on with their lives. Renewing contact with his initially distrusting family, Ryota struggles to take back control of his existence and to find a lasting place in the life of his young son (Taiyo Yoshizawa) - until a stormy summer night offers them a chance to truly bond again.

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Plot Keywords:

mother son relationship | father son relationship | family relationships | kitchen | radio news | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is Hirokazu Koreeda's second film whose title is taken from a pop song lyric. The original Japanese title "Umi yori mo mada fukaku" ("Even deeper than the sea") is a line from Teresa Teng's Kayokyoku (Japanese oldie pop) song "Wakare no yokan," which is heard diegetically in the film. The title of Still Walking (2008), Koreeda's earlier film which also starred Hiroshi Abe and Kirin Kiki, is also taken from a lyric in the Kayokyoku song "Blue Light Yokohama".

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Quotes

Shinoda Ryôta: I'm not... who I want to be yet. But, you know, it doesnt matter whether I've become what I wanted. What matters is to live my life trying to become what I want to be.

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Connections

References A Late Quartet (2012)

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Soundtracks

Shinkokyû
Music and lyrics by Takashi Nagazumi
Performed by Hanaregumi
Courtesy of Victor Records and Speedstar Records

User Reviews

Living a Desperate Life Hopefully

I bet we all can find the shadow of the underachieved protagonist in ourselves, as chances are really slim in materializing one's aspirations in the cruel reality. There he is: down-and-out both in career and mariage, scraping by through blackmailing strangers, yet always managing to squeeze a complacent smile on his face when meeting his family. You would presume he is leading a hopeless, listless, even miserable life, but the means by which the Japanese director narrates the story also attached a rather warm hue to the banal life of the man. In the end, what do we know about life without living it through ourselves?

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

21 May 2016 (Japan)

Also Known As:

After the Storm

Filming Locations:

Kiyose, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,880, 19 March 2017

Gross USA:

$272,132

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,382,886

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aoi Promotion, Bandai Visual Company, Fuji Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1