REEL JAPAN

Score: 7/10

A lighthearted examination of a middle-aged man who cannot adapt to change and cannot process failure, AFTER THE STORM was written and directed by Koreeda Hirokazu. Koreeda filmed it during breaks in the year-long production of OUR LITTLE SISTER. AFTER THE STORM is certainly the superior film. 

Hiroshi Abe excels at playing blue-collar misfits grappling with lives that didn’t turn out as expected, as in TOMBI (2022). He more often plays highly educated and aloof misfits, as in BECAUSE WE FORGET EVERYTHING and the TRICK franchise. In AFTER THE STORM, he plays Ryota, a former novelist with a stalled career moonlighting as a private detective. After his father’s death, he seeks help from his mother, but is foiled by his disapproving sister, played memorably by Kobayashi Satomi. Ryota’s continuing relationship with his son, Yoshizawa Taiyo, is in doubt because he is behind on child support. Ryota’s mother is played by veteran actress Kiki Kirin, who co-starred in the Koreeda films SHOPLIFTERS and LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. Maki Yoko (RYOMADEN, MOZU) is indispensable as Ryota’s former wife who refuses to engage with her ex husband on his terms, but politely embraces his family and their warmth. 

A typhoon traps these mismatched characters together. Whether due to budget limitations or artistic license, we do not see a single gust of wind or downed branch. Instead, the cast gathers in their pajamas to confront their demons over board games and snacks. A retiree explains the music of Bethoven to curious old ladies. Lottery tickets are fought over, lost, and searched for. Characters emerge from an octopus-shaped playground igloo as if reborn. AFTER THE STORM manages to weave its themes into a quiet, but never trite family drama.

©May 2026 REEL JAPAN all rights reserved