Tetsuya Nakashima's latest film is a bleak murder mystery/ meditation on parenting, particularly parenting a special needs child.
The story begins at a funeral for a private detective no one liked. As the narration says he was a guy who would be better off dead. The man was murdered and as courtesy his boss puts one of his men on the job of looking into it. He's told to take a trainee with him, a single mom hoping for better life. As the film progresses the link to a young man with spina bifida dorces the pair to cosider their lives and their track record as parents.
This is a dark little film where life is bleak and people don't magically change. Hidetoshi Nishijima's detective never really lightens up he just shifts his pain around. It's a unique portrayal of a man whose soul is crushed by life. He is operating in a dark world (everything is often tinged with blue) where no one is really good and everyone is sarcastic to hide the pain. He just drinks and glares and radiates all the pain in the world. He isn't hard boiled so much as hard burnt.
The plot, having to do with a kidnapping years before, is a bit convoluted, especially at first when the film is introducing everyone. It settles down and we are dragged along by the tail, though if you're like me you are going to want a second viewing in order to really put it together.
I really liked this film a great deal.
One of the best films at this year's NYAFF, it is one of the few that feels like a solid meal.
Highly recommended
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