Decision to Leave (South Korea, 2022)

A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.

Finally, the master Park Chan-wook is back since his last feature film The Handmaiden in 2016. A time such as that should be declared a holiday. For Decision to Leave, Chan-wook earned himself the prize for best director at Cannes 2022. It sets itself apart from his earlier works slightly because in the middle of this crime drama, there's somewhat of a love story going on, and though of course it doesn't fully commit to that genre I've seen it being labeled as a romantic mystery. What's still present is the slick and fascinating editing that's always prevalent in Chan-wook's films, making every scene way more interesting than any other director would have. 

Whatever the genres involved it's a great film with multiple plot twists during its involving story. Chan-wook also decided to use Chinese actress Tang Wei, known from Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018) and Lust, Caution (2007) as the leading lady, and she's an absolute force.

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery. 2h 18min.

Broker (South Korea, 2022)

A baby box is a small space, where parents can leave behind their babies anonymously. Sang-Hyun (Song Kang-Ho) finds new parents for a baby left in a baby box and makes a special deal with them. He calls himself a broker of good will. Sang-Hyun works with Dong-Soo in this endeavor. They get involved with So-Young, who placed her baby in the baby box, but has now come back for her baby. Meanwhile, Detective Soo-Jin and Detective Lee chase after Sang-Hyun and Dong-Soo.

While doing research for his film Like Father, Like Son (2013), director Hirokazu Koreeda came across the concept of a 'baby box' operated by a hospital in Japan, and decided he one day was going to make a film based on it. Later he learned that the number of babies left in baby boxes over in South Korea was larger, so he shifted his attention to their shores and put together an all-star cast for his first Korean film.

 

Just like in Shoplifters (2018), Koreeda looks at family and relationships in an unconventional way (he views the two movies as siblings due to developing them at the same time) and wanted to explore different sides of motherhood. The result is a beautifully shot journey and a reminder of why Koreeda is one of the best directors of contemporary Japanese cinema.

  

Genre: Drama. 2h 9min.

Sing, Dance, Act: Kabuki featuring Toma Ikuta (Japan, 2022)

Toma Ikuta and Matsuya Onoe were classmates back in their high school and have been close friends. In their high school days, the two promised that they would stand on the same stage some day. And for the final stage of Onoe's produced kabuki stage series, Ikuta will star as a special guest in his first ever time to perform kabuki.

Many people know Toma Ikuta from films such as The Mole Song (2013 and The Brain Man (2013), but in Sing, Dance, Act he puts himself out there and gives it all when the chance to perform in a kabuki play. Between the demanding training for difficult dance acts, Ikuta shares his thoughts on various subjects like his career and childhood while friends in the business also weigh in on how Ikuta is as a person. 

I must admit I was drawn into the film way more than I first thought, Ikuta isn't an actor I've deliberately followed or sought out movies by, but after seeing him here my respect grew immensely. He really comes across as very genuine and someone who doesn't do anything half-hearted. 

Genre: Documentary. 1h 27min.

One Day, You Will Reach the Sea (Japan, 2022)

Mana Kotani was friends with Sumire Utsuki for years. She admired Sumire's freewheeling ways and mysterious charm, but Sumire broke off connections with her. Later, Mana hears of Sumire's death, which she cannot get over.

Directly dealing with the effects of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, One Day You Will Reach the Sea is a powerful and well-acted film about the loss in a young woman's life, and the realization of how important a past friendship really was. The director Ryutaro Nakagawa (Mio on the Shore), who himself lost a close friend shortly after the disaster and wanted to explore questions he himself pondered afterwards, avoids all the melodrama clichés and crafts a convincing story of broken bonds with believable actresses in the lead. Well filmed and told with a respectful tempo, it's clear early on that you're watching something worth savoring.   

Genre: Drama. 2h 6min.