Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Summer in 1945" (literally "A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima") is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan's surrender ending WWII. Striking a welcome retro note in its languid pacing and delicate handling of seriocomic ensemble threads, handsome production is a natural for fests. It might also prove a cornerstone for retrospectives or ancillary releases of works by a helmer ("Preparation of the Festival," "Ronin-gai") who's long been appreciated at home but has won just limited attention abroad.
Tasuku Emoto
Yoshio Harada
Tokie Hidari
Wakaba Irie
Eri Ishida
Score: 7.2
Score: 7.2
Score: 8.4
Score: 8.6
Score: 6.9
Score: 7.4
Score: 7.6
Score: 6.1
