Asako I & II | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | NYFF 2018
Asako I & II is the latest drama written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi was adapted from the novel written by Tomoka Shibasaki.
When we first meet Asako (Erika Karata), she has a relationship with Baku (Masahigro Higashide) a fiery spirit who catches her heart but also breaks it when he vanishes one day without a trace. Years later she settles for a similar-looking new boyfriend with Ryohei (also Higashide), who looks just like her old flame but a much more normal and boring version of Baku.
It’s no doubt the similarity to her past lover that draws Asako to Ryohei, but she falls in love with him and they move in together and start to have a nice life with one another, built on the fact that she is only dating him because of how much he reminds her of someone else. The sort of little detail that will most certainly come back to haunt her and their relationship as the story unfolds.
The film’s first half is considerably strong, held up by the interesting developments and intrigue of the plot, with Asako and Ryohei’s relationship and their friendship with friends Maya (Rio Yamashita) and Haruyo (Koji Nakamoto) proving to be a nice light and fun delight.
However during the second half, the plot starts to feel much thinner and it starts to fade a bit after relying a bit too much on its concept, ultimately succumbing to the weight of it and not allowing it’s characters or actors to shine in a way that felt as unique as what came before.
When Asako becomes desperate to rekindle her relationship after making a crucial mistake, it starts to lean into familiar romantic territory that adds nothing new to the genre and starts to shortchange the rather creative and inspiring story that it began with.
There’s enough here to provide an intriguing and easy-viewing but it feels like a missed opportunity given it’s the imaginative and fresh concept.
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