Worth A Look
The debut film from one of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s disciples follows an observational approach in this low-key character piece that leaves us with a lot of questions.
As the title of the film would imply, there is a mystery at the heart of HIS LOST NAME (夜明け). Yet there is more than one puzzle to debut writer-director Nanako Hirose’s narrative, a film that is doggedly determined to downplay the drama.
Tetsuro (Kaoru Kobayashi) finds the unconscious body of a young man claiming to be called Shinichi (Yuya Yagira) by the river. Tetsuro brings the young man home to live with him and work in his woodworking shop. As Shinichi begins to learn a trade and bond with the small community around him, it becomes evident that both men harbour secrets.
Nanako Hirose has mentored under the legendary Hirokazu Kore-eda, working on second unit or as a directorial assistant on Like Father, Like Son and Our Little Sister. There’s echoes of the master’s thematic leanings here, with Hirose taking a largely observational approach to the interactions between Tetsuro, Shinichi, and the people in Tetsuro’s life.
The other Kore-eda connection, of course, is Yuya Yagira (The Fable, Gintama). The actor, now in his late 20s, made his debut as the lead in Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows. Yagira’s subdued performance is a blank slate, rarely letting anybody around him (or the audience) for that matter too close. More intriguing is Kaoru Kobayashi’s character, who has far more mystery around him through his relentless acts of kindness. Weighed down with years of guilt, there’s a dimensionality to his role that doesn’t always transfer to his co-stars.
After revealing some of the secrets in their respective pasts, Hirose’s script loses some of its momentum. The distinct lack of expected drama is admirable on some levels, although Hirose’s exploration of this father-son dynamic through static scenes and conversations lingers a little longer than it should. Little more is revealed about their motivations from these moments, marking them as something of a missed opportunity.
With HIS LOST NAME, Hirose marks herself as a filmmaker with an incredible sense for mise en scène, and the potential for character-based drama. Yet between the elongated running time and the jarringly abrupt ending, it’s ultimately a project that feels unfinished.
2018 | Japan | DIR: Nanako Hirose | WRITER: Nanako Hirose | CAST: Kaoru Kobayashi, Yuya Yagira | DISTRIBUTOR: GAGA Corporation (JPN), Melbourne International Film Festival (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 113 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 18 January 2019 (JPN), 1 – 18 August 2019 (AUS)
