AFTER THE STORM

Ryota is a washed-up author, still clinging to the glory days of his successful, but now forgotten, debut novel. Hit by a severe case of writer’s block, he’s forced to take a job as a private investigator. To save face, he tells his friends and family that it’s merely “research” for his next book. The truth is, he’s falling apart. His wife Kyoko has left him, he barely gets to see his son Shingo, and the little money he makes is gambled away. He’s even resorted to pawning off his deceased father’s possessions. The only stable thing left is his mother (played by the terrific Kirin Kiki), a hilarious, metaphor-slinging old woman, who is still holding out hope for her son’s triumphant comeback. As a terrifying typhoon begins to wreak havoc on their Japanese city, Ryota finds himself stuck in a predicament that could help him undo the damage he’s done with Kyoko and Shingo. Can the storm bring them together, or is their family forever fractured? It’s make or break for Ryota in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s warmly relatable drama, AFTER THE STORM. (In Japanese with subtitles) —E.F.