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Love Life
A couple find their relationship in a precarious state following a tragedy, in Kōji Fukada’s subtle portrait of the frailty of human relationships.
Director: Koji Fukada
Overview
Beautifully shot by Hideo Yamamoto (Hana-bi, Audition), Love Life is an understated portrait of human frailty, whose power comes from its observations on the minutiae of everyday life.
A family tragedy makes clear the fault lines that were emerging in a young couple’s relationship, in Kōji Fukada’s quietly devastating drama. Taeko and Jiro live together with six-year-old Keita, from Taeko’s first marriage. Also living in the same building are Jiro’s parents, Makato and Akie, whose disdain for their son having married a divorcee is all too evident. When a birthday party goes horribly awry, long-suppressed recriminations surface. Matters are worsened by the arrival of Taeko’s deaf Korean ex-partner Park, whose actions bring whatever accord existed in this environment to an end. Taeko displaces her feelings by placating Park, while Jiro feels drawn to Yamazaki, with whom he had a long-term relationship before he met his wife.
Moderate upsetting scenes, brief violence
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