After the Storm

This was a lovely character study film that I really loved! This is the second film that I have watched starring Hiroshi Abe and he just has that perfect "dad energy" where he's trying to do his best but he's only human. I was not expecting this to be less about the storm and more about the lead up to a fateful night. This film should really have been called "during the storm", but I do understand the title. Because "after the storm" probably has the best scene.

The cinematography in this is so muted compared to other films like Hirokazu Kore-eda, but I love how reserved it was. This shows things plainly in a way that I appreciated. Everything felt natural and there was never a wasted moment on unnessacery shots. I adore how this film plays with the cooler color tones and yet still feels so vibrant and hopeful. It sort of reminds me of Rhapsody in August in some ways because of that fact!

I love the realism of the relationships in this where everything is very messy, feelings are all over the place, but the situation makes it impossible to talk for longer then a little bit. I don't think there's a single romance in the world that's perfect, and no romance has ever ended beautifully. That's why I think I loved this so much, it shows that even if romances can end in an ugly way, there's still beauty to be had... after the storm!