Three Stories Of Love

For the first time in seven years renowned filmmaker Ryosuke HASHIGUCHI ( “A Touch Of Fever,” “Like Grains of Sand ‘and’ Hush! ‘) writes his own screenplay. The result is a brutally honest drama that focuses on the true emotions of a modern society.

Do not be fooled by the title, the three protagonists do not feature in sugar-sweet love scenes in this film. Atsushi is a loner who has difficulty processing the death of his wife. His job as safety inspector of bridges seems characteristic of his loneliness. Love is the last thing he thinks about – and yet …

Toko on the other hand is smothered by a loveless marriage. Not even her silly hobbies remove the drudgery from her life. And then she gets to know the meat vendor at work …

Takashi is a first class asshole, evidenced by his job as a corporate lawyer, his luxurious apartment and his condescending style of human interaction. Yet he has a crush on an ex-classmate in which he has no control.

What these three protagonists have in common is the realization that the small things in life are very important as the love fades away from their lives. Mark Schilling, film critic of The Japan Times, described the film as follows: “To put it as simply and plainly as Toko might herself, “Three Stories of Love” is the best film I’ve seen all year.” We leave it up to you to experience it yourself.

Cast: Atsushi SHINOHARA, Toko NARUSHIMA, Ryo IKEDA, Ken MITSUISHI

AWARDS:

• Atsushi Shinohara won Newcomer of Year – Award of the Japanese Academy 2016
• Best Director – Yokohama Film Festival 2015
• Best Supporting Actor – Yokohama Film Festival 2015
• 2nd place Audience Award – Yokohama Film Festival 2015

NOMINATED:

• Best Film – Asian Film Award 2016

All images: © 2015 “Three Stories Of Love”