Hirokazu Kore-eda - H 2013
The story, casting and release plans for celebrated Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s next film were revealed in Tokyo on Monday.
Japanese distributor Gaga announced that After the Storm (Umi yori mo Mada Fukaku), written and directed by Kore-eda, is now in postproduction and will be released in Japan on May 21, 2016, making the film a likely contender for a competition slot at the Cannes Film Festival, where the auteur’s previous two films premiered.
Kore-eda’s 2013 feature, Like Father, Like Son, won the Cannes Jury Prize and DreamWorks Studios acquired rights to remake the movie in English (brothers Chris and Paul Weitz are attached to direct).
Described as an offbeat family drama, After the Storm stars Japanese TV and film veteran Hiroshi Abe as a shiftless middle-aged dreamer, while Kore-eda ensemble regular Kirin Kiki plays the man’s doting mother and Yoko Maki his former wife.
The movie’s official plot summary is as follows: 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.
Gaga is selling the film in Asia, while Wild Bunch is handling sales for the rest of the world.
