An experienced film critic, Jo-Ann has covered major festivals such as Cannes and Venice for almost two decades. She's based in Venice and was a contributor to the Time Out Venice travel guide for many years.
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All of a Sudden
Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s first foray into foreign-language filmmaking, a French-language drama, might appear daunting, what with the subtitles, the 196-minute running time, and much of the action taking place in an old people’s home. Not exactly date-night fodder. Yet you would be remiss to pass it by.
The opening scene sets the tone: Paris care home manager Marie-Lou (Benedetta’s Virginie Efira) is napping in the bucolic grounds while one of her patients enjoys a smoke. The home is called the Garden of Freedom, an apt name for a place that aspires to be more than just a stopping-off point before death for its residents. Marie-Lou aims to provide the best care to her patients, but is up against budget restrictions, corporate managers and staff resistant to her innovative regime.
The home was once a psychiatric hospital, which is of relevance later, when Marie-Lou encounters Tomoki (Kodai Kurosaki), a youth with learning difficulties who has escaped his wards and is running free through the streets of Paris. As luck would have it, Marie-Lou speaks fluent Japanese – what were the chances?! Tomoki’s uncle is an acclaimed actor Goro (Kyozo Nagatsuka), starring in a play directed by Mari (Tao Okamoto). They invite Marie-Lou to their show about Franco Basaglia, a psychiatrist instrumental in dismantling mental hospitals throughout Italy. Hamaguchi returns to Basaglia’s fundamental question: ‘Are healthy people truly alive?’ throughout the film.
Where Evil Does Not Exist was a dialogue-l