Au Revoir l’ete will be getting a UK release courtesy of the film company day for night. Even though the film was screened at last year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival and I was aware that it was picked up for UK distribution but lost track of it after that. Thankfully a kind reader named Rachel Amandus alerted me to a future screening and that got me doing some rummaging around the internet for information to make this post!
Au revoir l’ete
Japanese: ほとり の 朔子
Romaji: Hotori no Sakuko
Running Time: 125 mins.
Release Date: January 18th, 2014
Director: Koji Fukada
Writer: Koji Fukada (Screenplay)
Starring: Fumi Nikaido, Mayu Tsuruta, Kanji Furutachi, Taiga, Ena Koshino, Makiko Watanabe, Kiki Sugino
Fumi Nikaido takes the lead as an eighteen-year-old girl named Sakuko. She’s a ronin student who is preparing to take her university entrance exam after flunking her previous one. She visits her aunt Mikie (Tsuruta) who is house-sitting in a sleepy coastal town house where she meets her aunt’s childhood friend (and ex-lover) Ukichi (Furutachi). He manages the local love motel and lives with his daughter Tatsuko (Sugino) and his nephew Takashi (Taiga) who is from Fukushima and working at the motel. Sakuko gets involved with everyone’s lives and a web of relationships evolves throughout the summer…
Au Revoir L’ete was originally released in January 2014 and since then it has been touring the festival circuit for a while (Rotterdam, Edinburgh), as mentioned earlier, and during its travels it has picked up all sorts of awards and reviews that tell stories of adulation (Japan Times) and frustration (the Hollywood Reporter. The mix of views all seems to stem from whether one likes meandering tales of people navigating complicated relationships. The subtle execution and languid tone strike a balance between Japanese cinema and the French New Wave with Eric Rohmer’s name being name-checked. I’m a fan of Rohmer’s works and one of my earliest posts (and briefest) on this blog was about his passing so I’m totally looking forward to seeing this one.
Au Revoir l’ete stars a whole group of talented Japanese actors with the astonishingly brilliant Fumi Nikaido taking the lead. She has impressed me in everything I have seen her in, from Himizu where she portrayed an immature school girl facing great adversity, to the most recent title I have seen her in Watashi no Otoko where she blew me away as a young woman shaped into a lover by a predatory older guy and ultimately ensnaring him while being broken herself. Her performances hold profound depths of despair and hope without the need to overact and spell everything out for the audience and this makes a great lead for a film of this type.
She has support from excellent actors like Kanji Furutachi (The Woodsman and the Rain, the crazy curry cook in Fuku-chan of Fukufuku Flats), Ena Koshino (The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky and indie gem About the Pink Sky), Taiga (The Kirishima Thing and a small part in Watashi no Otoko) and Makiko Watanabe (Love Exposure). The film’s producer is Kiki Sugino and she also has a role and that is as the daughter of Ukichi. She’s a director in her own right and has produced some interesting-looking films like Chigasaki Story.
Anyway back to the release details, the film will be screened at:
The Horse Hospital on April 24th
The Proud Archivist on April 28th
The film will then be available to watch on the website via the distrify platform from April 24th. That’s how I’m going to watch it. Expect a review.
Genkinahito 
Why was I expecting a crocodile to jump out of the water at the end of the preview clip?
I’ll let you know if Au revoir l’ete turns into Lake Placid. 🙂
An American film would have an alligator attack. Foreign films like Au revoir l’ete would only have “emotional alligators swimming in the shallow memories of my despair” or something sophisticated like that : )
I think deep down we would all like to see an alligator attack in every movie. Think about how much better Citizen Kane would have been if a character had to wrestle an alligator released at one of Foster Kane’s wild parties! Not just a classic… A super classic!
Is it just me or does Fumi Nikaido facially resemble Ai Miyazaki?
Don’t forget she was also the kick ass lead in “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” and a victim in “Lesson Of The Evil” too! 😉 I have “My Man” on my “To watch” list and I’ve heard good things about it so I may move it up the list.
I’m concerned about the Eric Rohmer influence since I’m not a huge fan of his films. I even turned off “The Green Ray” after 20 minutes as it was all boring chat going nowhere… 😦
I see some resemblance between Fumi Nikaido and Ai Miazaki.
I’ve been a fan of Nikaido’s acting for a while but her performance in Watashi no Otoko was so phenomenal I can see her being the best actress of this generation.
Eric Rohmer… It has been a while since I saw one of his films but there was a period when I could sit back and watch them and forget the world and get wrapped up in the story.
I’m looking forward to Au revoir l’ete… Only a few more days before I watch it!
Lucky you! 😛
Look forward to reading your review as always! 🙂
Since it’ll be available on the website anyone can watch it! Spread the word 🙂
Yeah, I’m not a fan of watching films via streaming. I can handle 20-30 minutes or so but a feature length – not for me I’m afraid. 😦
I hope a DVD release is forthcoming instead.
It’s nice to have the DVD but I stream a lot so I’m comfortable using the service available for Au revoir l’ete.
I really enjoyed Fumi Nikaido in both La La La At Rock Bottom and Au revoir l’éte. Ordered Himizu, will give that a look too. Where can I find the service to stream Au revoir l’éte though?? Did you like the film?
Himizu is brilliant and Fumi Nikaido gives another great performance. You could try Why Don’t You Play in Hell? where she plays a punk Yakuza princess!
Au revoir l’ete is on filmdoo and I haven’t watched it yet. I’m looking forward to seeing it!