After the Storm
RYOTA (Abe), a one-time celebrated author, is currently down on his luck.
He spends his time living on his past glory (he has not written a new book in more than a decade) and squanders the money he makes as a private detective on his gambling habit.
His relationship with his family isn’t all that great either.
His ex-wife Kyoko ( Make) seems to be moving on, and his young son Shingo (Yoshizawa) is becoming more distant, to Ryota’s disappointment.
One day, due to a storm, all three are forced to stay in the home of Ryota’s ageing mother Yoshiko (Kiki Kirin).
It is during this time that the
SCast: Hiroshi Abe, Taiyo Yoshizawa and Yoko Make Director: Horokazu Kore-eda E-Value: 6 Acting: 8 Plot: 8
father and son get the opportunity to really know and understand each other.
Another emotional moment is when Yoshiko and Kyoko discover despite their disagreements about Ryota, that they have much in common. HE may seem like a sweet little old lady but beware, because Kirin Kiki, 73 years young, has a killer sense of humour when it comes to sharing anecdotes about her career.
She was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the Japanese Film Festival 2016, and this veteran actress who has been a part of Japan’s entertainment world since 1960, (in theatre, TV dramas and films) is still very much in demand.
The three-time Japanese Academy Prize winner is enjoying a great career playing wise, elderly matriarch roles.
Through an interpreter, actress Kiki said she had been to Malaysia previously but it was way before KLIA was built. She remembers landing in a small airport back then.
She felt greatly honoured to be invited to this year’s Japanese Film Festival, in which two of her films, After the Storm (2016) and An (2015) are being featured.
“There aren’t many opportunities for older actors like myself to be invited overseas. I must be one of the lucky ones,” said Kiki, who started playing older characters when she was 31.
When asked what she enjoyed most about her career, she replied: “I have not had any great celebrity encounters. One thing I can say is [that] I have had the good fortune to work with good directors.”
She described After the Storm as a movie set in the daily life of a family.
“It has a lot of room for actors to explore [their characters],” she said.
“I believe it is a piece of work that will resonate with audiences, well into the future.”
After the Storm was also shot in the same narrow apartment complex that director Hirokazu Kore-eda ( Like Father, Like Son) grew up in.
She explained how during the shoot, people living there actually walked up to Kore-eda and gave him pocket money to “help him with his career”.
On ageism in the film industry, Kiki – who is still busy acting – said: “Traditionally, in Japan, the common understanding is that to be an actress, you have to be a beautiful woman. [Despite] my unconventional looks, I never lacked roles to play.
“Other actresses won’t play grandmother roles, and that is why all the jobs came to me. An
The actors do a wonderful job with the roles they play, especially Abe who still makes Ryota somewhat likeable, even when he is a scoundrel.
The director weaves a wonderful story about family bonds, which lives up to the standards of his highly celebrated 2013 film Like Father, Like Son that won the Jury Prize at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.
After the Storm is being screened as part of the Japanese Film Festival 2016.
For a complete list of films and showtimes, visit www.jfkl.org.my or www.gsc.com.my. An, their comfort zones, and it is something that is happening in many developing countries around the world.
In An, Kiki’s real-life granddaughter Kyara Uchida plays schoolgirl Wakana, who is at a crossroads in her life.
“Actually, I took advantage of my celebrity status, and got her an audition, as I wanted her, at age 14, to work with a good director,” she said.
“In hindsight, I think her qualities match what this film is about. I have no complaints.”
Kiki also joked about her granddaughter: “She lived in the UK at that time but she had to go back and forth [for filming]. Just the airfare alone put us in the red! Economically, it was a loss but it was a plus in other ways.”
As for more appearances together with her granddaughter in the future, Kiki jokingly said that “won’t be happening”. www.jfkl.org.my.