Radiance (2017)

A passionate writer of film versions for the visually impaired meets an older photographer who is slowly losing his eyesight.

Director:

Naomi Kawase

Writer:

Naomi Kawase (screenplay)

Stars:

Masatoshi Nagase, Ayame Misaki, Tatsuya Fuji

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Masatoshi Nagase	...	Masaya Nakamori
Ayame Misaki	...	Misako Ozaki
Tatsuya Fuji	...	Kitabayashi / Juzo
Kazuko Shirakawa	...	Yasuko Ozaki
Misuzu Kanno	...	Tomoko / Tokie
Mantarô Koichi	...	Akitoshi
Chihiro Ohtsuka	...	Nakamori's Friend #1
Nobumitsu Ônishi	...	Nakamori's Friend #2
Noémie Nakai	...	Model
Saori Koide	...	Audiolocution Attending #2

Storyline

At a firm specializing in creating audio descriptions for films to serve the visually impaired, a descriptive video transcriber comes to know one of the panel members who is a formerly successful photographer who has lost much of his eyesight. As the man loses his main mode of connecting with the world he also yields his other means away. The new acquaintanceship leads to man and woman coming to terms with their lives and professions and seeing the world in new ways.

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Plot Keywords:

long haired woman | long hair | feminine hair | denim skirt | miniskirt | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film had its North American premiere at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in September, 2017.

User Reviews

Radiance - Our Common Humanity as a Healing Bridge

What an interesting movie about loss and redemption by remembering the inherent radiance of all things and all experiences.

I had seen Kawase's "Sweet Bean" and really enjoyed it.

Yet, although this film, too, is about disability and those who live on the margins, the healing nature of the film lies in the character arc of the female protagonist to go through her own emotions of redemption and loss to begin to see those who are marginalized as equal, complex human beings, through the eyes of compassion, as opposed to a "rescue" mode, where she tried to initially insert uplifting didactic messages in an audio version of a film she is preparing for the visually impaired.

It's through compassion and a belief in the joint radiance of humanity, in spite of the challenges, hopes and losses of the human experience that we can find compassion and hope.

Radiance is a movie for there times of Covid. Our common humanity, our joint experiences of the ups and downs of life can be the bridge for healing the antagonisms and tribal frequencies that have been rife in this time of uncertainty and fear.

The Sun is always there, providing radiance.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

Japan France

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

27 May 2017 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Radiance

Filming Locations:

Nara, Nara, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$380,560

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comme des Cinémas, Kino Films, Kumie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1