Review of 'Sunset Sunrise': A Kudokan-style Ode to Humanity

This is a film I wanted to see in theaters at the time, but I missed the chance.
Now that it has been released on streaming, I was finally able to watch it.

The film is set against the backdrop of the world in 2020, nine years after the Tohoku earthquake and during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The plot follows Nishio, played by Masaki Suda, who works for a major corporation and moves to a fishing town in Sanriku after shifting to remote work, where he begins to interact with the local residents.

This film, might feel disappointing to some who were drawn to it by its symbolic themes like the earthquake or the pandemic.

This is, first and foremost, a new work by Kankuro Kudo, so it is better to watch it with that in mind. I also want viewers to keep in mind that the title of the film is 'Sunset Sunrise' (The sun will rise again), regardless of the earthquake or the pandemic. That is the kind of film this is.

※Images in this text are cited from the official website and promotional videos
https://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/sunsetsunrise/

Life in Sanriku and human connections, depicted with a lighthearted dramatic touch

The details throughout the work are kept moderate, maintaining a tone of lighthearted drama. It is what you might call the 'Kudokan style'.

For example, the way the lives of the local people are depicted—while there should have been various impacts like the economy coming to a halt during the pandemic—such seriousness is intentionally not brought to the forefront.

Nishio's company, 'Cymbal Corp,' is portrayed as a massive corporation known even to people in the countryside, but Nishio himself lacks an elite vibe, and his specific job role is unclear.
The fact that the president (Fumiyo Kohinata) gets involved in the work of a single department also does not feel like a realistic development.

This is also evident in the relationship between the heroine, Momoka Sekino (played by Mao Inoue), and her father, Akio Sekino (played by Masatoshi Nakamura).
Both are set as rural residents of Sanriku and speak with a strong dialect. They are characterized in a very easy-to-understand way as country folk, but the values they hold at their core are urban.

They are depicted as having personalities that naturally accept progressive ideas, such as actively welcoming newcomers and ultimately choosing a way of life that does not insist on the traditional form of marriage.

Within the two-hour runtime of the film, their ideologies do not appear to change significantly, and one cannot deny the impression that they are somewhat idealized to fit the themes the work wants to explore.

However, it felt to me as if this was done intentionally.

Personally, I feel that in Kudokan's works, realism is not prioritized, or rather, instead of capturing themes directly, he depicts the relationships of the people living there, and as a result, the themes emerge from the background.

And I think one of his charms is that he depicts a kind of ideal human relationship within the atmosphere of the setting, transcending reality and logic.

The interactions between Nishio and the townspeople, and the relationship between Momoka and Akio that transcends that of a typical parent and child, were truly comforting to watch.

The welcoming atmosphere of the small restaurant where the town friends gather was also peak 'Kudokan' style and wonderful. It warmly depicts the 'ideal rural town' that everyone wishes for.

Throughout the entire film, not a single villain appears, and it avoids the easy, unpleasant trope of 'city vs. country'.
From start to finish, you are healed by the gentle progression of the story that you can safely surrender yourself to.

Neither the earthquake nor the pandemic are 'depicted'. They are just there as events.

While themes like the earthquake and the pandemic appear to be present, I believe that in this work, neither is actually 'depicted'.

Symbolic elements like Zoom drinking parties and social distancing do appear. However, they are not treated as subjects to be explored; they are just placed in the background of the story as events that naturally happened and were there.

Momoka, who lost her husband and child in the earthquake, takes a new step forward with Nishio, who came from the city. The earthquake and the pandemic dissolve into the scenery of daily life as past events.
What the film wants to depict is not the earthquake or the pandemic, but the idea that, including all those life events, relationships with loved ones and the passage of time can heal the heart and help us move forward.

True to the title "Sunset Sunrise," I think this was a wonderful work that brought to light the hope in life—that the sun will rise again—through the daily lives of the people living in Sanriku.