Look Back, 2026.
Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda.
Starring Natsuki Deguchi, Aju Makita, Fuuri Nanase, Rokka Okada, Masaki Suda, Kankuro Kudo, Kayo Noro, Ryo Ikeda, Miyu Sasaki, and Maho Yamada.
SYNOPSIS:
Two manga artists meet and develop a bond over making manga.
For those unfamiliar with the Tatsuki Fujimoto manga that co-writer/director Hirokazu Koreeda’s Look Back is based on (which itself was adapted into an anime movie), it may initially feel like a minor work from an otherwise extraordinary filmmaker known for major stories centered on humanity and adolescence.
It is a warm, sweet story about the popular Fujino developing a bond with home-schooled recluse but fellow aspiring artist Kyomoto, as the former navigates the tricky crossroads of entering teenhood, nervous to embrace her true passions of making manga for fear of ridicule or of becoming as ostracized as the peer her class never met. After her teacher insists she drop off an elementary school diploma, she and Kyomoto, who idolizes Fujino for juggling school and drawing manga strips despite her slightly inferior talents, become friends and artistic partners.
While gently and beautifully capturing their creative process and glimpses of their sketching (something that feels difficult to film and act on screen), the friendship continues to blossom with bigger, grander ideas and a true sense of self-discovery in one another. Played by an assortment of actors as the girls age (all remarkably lived-in at each phase), the friendship also faces strife and devastation. It is also here that art and manga take on new creative meanings, with the film’s emotions becoming as sweeping and large as the manga and anime mediums it adapts and draws inspiration from.
Look Back is more than a simple, sweet story of friendship; it’s a look at the highs and lows of a formative friendship, with at least one big narrative swing that some might feel is forcing drama and runny eyes, but that still feels earned in the world we live in. There could have been a bit more fleshing out of their lives outside the friendship, but so much of it rings true that it is also admirable the film knows where its focus should lie. What could be perceived as a misstep still comes across as emotionally raw and with purpose. This is a heartwarming, tender tearjerker that also functions as a powerful ode to friendship, all while inventively playing with the boundaries and capabilities of what art can express.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
