With a decade having passed since the 2011 disaster in Japan, a number of directors have turned their look towards the incident and its consequences, with “Fukushima 50” being the most renowned. Using the photography books of Masashi Asada as inspiration, Ryota Nakano presents a radically different take on the concept, by combining it with a distinctly anthropocentric story.
“The Asadas” is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
Since he was a small kid, Masashi has shown an interest in photography, particularly since his father Akira took a picture of him and his brother, Yukihiro, during an excursion. Recognizing his talent, the whole family obliges to his whims of photographing them all showing off their dream jobs or other aspirations, including photos as yakuza, race drivers, firemen, and members of a band, among others. However, their constant will to help has made Masashi a self-centered, spoiled young man, whose sole redeeming quality seems to be his eagerness to apologize. His attitude eventually leads him to abandoning his dream of becoming a photographer and his childhood sweetheart, Wakana, him and leave for Tokyo. A series of events change his attitude and he decides to pursue his dream once more, although his free-loading attitude does not change much, even leading him to crash into Wakana’s tiny apartment, and live off her as he has no money, for years. With the continuous support from both her and his family, he eventually succeeds, but that is about when the earthquake strikes.
Ryota Nakano directs a film that is split into two parts, with the disaster functioning as the dichotomy, although the focus remains on Masashi throughout the movie. In that regard, the first part deals with his life story, starting from childhood but focusing on his adolescence and eventually his 20+something years. In this part, Masashi is presented as a good guy, who is however, too pampered and spoiled by his parents, who also push his older brother to constantly help him, despite the latter’s growing frustration for his little brother’s freeloading ways. The fact that even his girlfriend is sucked in this rather one-sided kind of relationships Masashi seems to retain with everyone who love him adds even more to his character.
However, and despite his many mistakes and constant behaviour, everyone around him seem to forgive him repeatedly, particularly since he is quite eager to admit his mistakes and apologize. This aspect leads to one of the central comments of the film, about the way apology works and how some people overuse it, with Masashi actually using it to continue asking for favors, despite the fact that the whole concept also involves a “promise” for not repeating the same mistake again and an effort towards change. The justification behind Masashi’s “support circle” is one of the most interesting aspects of the narrative, since they all seem to both recognize a talent that needs nurturing to shine and the fact that Masashi loves them but cannot keep himself from “exploiting” them.
Their reward, nevertheless, comes much later, after the disaster, although once more it involves them asking directly, particularly in Wakana’s case who cannot handle his disregard for her feelings and his reluctance to take responsibility, anymore. This second part also signifies the metastrophe of Masashi into a semblance, at least, of maturity. This change, which starts a bit before, when he travels all over the country to take family photos of different people, is cemented after the quake, when his interaction with people’s intense misery makes him act altruistically, for once.
At the same time, however, Masashi does not become an unlikeable character, at least for the most part, since Nakano takes care of stressing the fact that he is not a bad guy, and his actions are more a product of lack of thinking than malevolence. This aspect also benefits the most by Kazunari Ninomiya‘s portrayal, with him giving a great performance, particularly for the sense of measure he exhibits.
Check the interview with the director
This sense of measure is actually a trait of the whole narrative, with Nakano not allowing the film to become melodramatic, even in the most touching moment, retaining a sense of optimism for the whole duration, in an approach that is also benefitted by the very fitting music by Takashi Watanabe. Furthermore, the presence of a number of characters whose behaviour borders on the comic, starting with Masashi’s family and continuing to his first publisher, played hilariously by Nobue Iketani, also adds to this trait. The rest of the cast, Satoshi Tsumabuki as Yukihiro, Jun Fubuki as Junko, the mother, Mitsuru Hirata as Akira and Haru Kuroki as Wakana, the mother, also follow the same guidelines, although Tsumabuki and Kuroki also have their dramatic moments in the film. One could say that the presentation of the characters and situations borders on the romantic or even the idyllic, a concept that is also communicated through the rather polished cinematography of Hironori Yamazaki, but considering the trauma the disaster has left, this approach is actually ideal. On the other hand, the approach towards the whole concept of photography and its sentimental value is quite well-presented through the cinematography, while also adding another level in the already rich context of the movie.
Another of the best traits of the movie is the art direction, with the various transformations of the family for the photos being rather amusing and hilarious, while the presentation of the photos in the school walls is just impressive. Soichi Ueno’s editing ends up in a rather suitable, mid-tempo pace, which suits the overall aesthetics quite nicely
“The Asadas” is a very entertaining, very easy-to-watch film that manages to present such a difficult concept in a way that is both sensitive and easy going, and a rather interesting portrait of a very interesting man.
