After the Storm

After finishing Hirokazu Kore-eda's Monster, I immediately wanted to watch another one of their films. There was so much to enjoy in terms of writing and directing so I expected the same coming into this one. After The Storm is an emotional drama, much different to the psychological thriller that is Monster but Kore-eda's skills lie in the way he portrays the people in his films and he hits it out of the park with both films. In essence, Kore-eda is a genius at developing characters and personalities. He creates a sort of familiarity for the characters that's just special. It's a two hour film but you feel like you know these characters and you understand what each of them are struggling with. I also absolutely adore this story. It's quite a depressing one but it feels realistic and grounded. A man who's failed in his work, family and goals end up getting one last chance to relive the family life he used to have, before it went crashing down. It's a powerful narrative about regret and neglect, with our main character's story echoing the father he hates and swears to never be. "A man doesn't know what he's lost until it's gone.". Those are the words this film desperately tries to convey, over and over.