Amateur Recommendation Hour: After The Storm

Today’s recommendation is a thoughtful, heartfelt, honest, and humanistic work that will resonate with many who decide to allow it to do so. Its ability to almost provide a state of soothing relaxation while conveying its themes and messages I think is no small feat. This piece spoke to me in a very unique voice. As if it understood the whims and desires of my own weary and cynical outlook in the worst of times and decided to comfort the most genuine and respectful aspects of my being. And that is honestly the best way that I can describe this work if I were forced to in a single word: genuine. Which is absolutely a word I would describe so much of the directors filmography that I’ve seen to this point.

After The Storm, directed and written by Hirokazu Koreeda, the auteur filmmaker who is arguably the most well-known and best in modern Japanese cinema, is the story of the immoral but redeemable former prize-winning author turned private detective Ryota (played masterfully by Hiroshi Abe) and his attempts to reconnect with his mother, his son, and his ex-wife. Mired in debt from gambling and unable to pay child support he finds himself in a position where his decision making going forward will be everything in determining what kind of life he will have from here on out. 

The narrative premise itself sounds like the ripe backdrop for a morose black comedy, potentially inviting the audience to laugh at the misguided decisions of the protagonist complete with familial melodrama and overtly strained relations. The setup is as real as it gets so rather than confronting these with heavy doses of sardonic humor. Instead, Koreeda has us delicately sit next to our miserable leading man on the train and engage in small talk, following with it a deeper and more meaningful conversation bordering on the informal. An intimate and solemn slate of cinematography bringing us closer to this family and why is ultimately ended in dissolution.

To say that it is difficult to portray moral flaws and bad mistakes with an incredible amount of grace and gentleness I think goes without saying. And ultimately that is what I believe to be the shining accomplishment of this film, for which there is many. No matter how much failure and defat is conveyed through this piece it is all done with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. The titular storm is used as a metaphor for the storms we face in our lives that take up so much emotional energy and time. When we confront the storm in a smart and measured manner even if it takes down more foliage and trees than we had hoped it doesn’t mean that those fallen trees and branches are not worth our love and appreciation for what they provided when they were up.

There is no cheap redemption for anyone. Building back to an even remotely status quo is an arduous task, and it is that feeling of the "job ahead" that puts After The Storm in a class above the rest. Resolving itself in a fashion steeped in humanistic realism that creates a much less theatrical sense of place. Real people, finding themselves searching and ultimately finding a reasonably comfortable stalemate that they can live with.

Koreeda’s gentle and modest cinematography reinforces these themes without giving itself credit for it. There is an equal level of intimacy and all-encompassment in how the film is framed. From distance or in the heart of the storm, both emotional and tangible, there is a level of respect given to the characters through not saying anything, just showing what we are supposed to see, what we have been given privilege to see. There is so much love for the medium and what kind of experience it can uniquely provide in comparison to other artistic mediums, and that always comes through in Koreeda’s unique methods of creating his most beloved form.

The score by Hanaregumi is, as you would expect, reserved and restrained, gentle and heartfelt but its usage to punctuate important moments and events in the story make it stand out in comparison to if it utilized a little more liberally. Being used to add to scenes rather than potentially overpower them or dictate them. It is not intrusive, just like every aspect of the film outside of the central struggle. Sweet and savory acoustic tones, it doesn’t draw attention to itself and there is a lovely restraint and respect in that. It is the supplementary music that can be as valuable to the experience as that which we would listen to detached from its respective film.

At its heart this is a story of personal and interpersonal reconciliation, and that motif plays itself out in multiple different manners throughout the duration of the film. It is never too late to make the best of a situation, of our lives, and of our relationships with others. Familial relations are hard, particularly those with an estranged past and present but the future moments of joy and lightness, no matter how brief, are all the more worth it. Holding onto those pieces in the aftermath is cold comfort, for sure, but it is in that snapshot we can see the best of ourselves and our efforts, none of which can ever be considered inherently wasteful. 

Just because they are no longer a staple in our everyday life does not mean that the value of our time together and enriching each others lives didn’t happen, just as much as it doesn’t erase the pain and frustration. The gears of life’s emotion turn slowly, and doubly so when they are rusted, but even so they serve their function as long as we let them.

My artistic idealism exists in many forms and is well documented. To say that you will be guaranteed to enjoy any work I present to you is obviously untrue. We all have different standards, tastes, opinions, and experiences. I value all of those and think that each of us has a valuable voice in the stratosphere of art. If my recommendations do not speak to your sensibilities that is okay. I know some elves will for absolute sure. I thank you for at the very least giving me the chance and hearing out what I have to say, whether there is interest on your part or not.