✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Japan · 2001
2h 12m
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring Arata Iura, Yûsuke Iseya, Susumu Terajima, Yui Natsukawa
Genre Drama
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
On the eighth anniversary of a cult's failed chemical attack on Tokyo and their subsequent mass suicide, family members of those affected gather at the cult's former base on the shores of a lake to observe the anniversary of their loved ones' deaths.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
It's admirable that Kore-eda sets himself new challenges each time he makes a film, but the attempt to conjure substance from conversations improvised around a complicated and obscure back-story in Distance proves fairly unrewarding.
There’s almost none of the generous, involving humanity (and warm humor) of the previous film, nor any clear take on the personalities in the slackly structured script, largely improvised by the actors.
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
The film's exploration of loss and the gulf of time and memory that separates us from our pasts is beautifully and subtly handled by Kore-eda. But it is his concern with the sometimes insurmountable distance that lies between knowing and not knowing why we do the things we do that is the filmmaker's true -- and most profound -- subject. [2 April 2004, p.T47]
The Hollywood Reporter by Michael Rechtshaffen
While the endless introspection may be therapeutic for those involved, it's not so wonderful for the innocent onlooker, who's subjected to the ponderous musings of the emotionally catatonic group while a series of similarly vapid flashbacks offer little in the way of relief.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
This is a diffuse film, and lacks Afterlife's clinching motif. It is uncertain in both its tone and its message - if, indeed, any such message exists, or even needs to.... There is something melancholy and resonant about this film, and it has its own subtle, unsettling effect. [22 Aug 2001, p.12]
After surviving an assassination attempt, King of Qin summons a renowned warrior in hopes of uniting the Warring States of ancient China.
A man, thoroughly dissatisfied with his life, finds new meaning when he forms a fight club with soap salesman Tyler Durden.
A new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration in postwar France.
In a dystopian future, an undercover cop must infiltrate the worst ghetto in Paris to prevent nuclear war.
Damien and Leito return to bring peace to District 13 once again.
A priest finds himself torn between faith and bloodlust.
Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei and Toshiko welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion.
The spirit of a drug addict embarks on a psychedelic tour of life after death.
The story of Ouyang Feng and how he became the notorious Western Venom
A group of gunmen take over an Athens theater and stages a Greek tragedy with the audiences where art becomes reality.
A poor family lies and schemes their way into the employ of a wealthy household — successfully, but with great consequences.
It is time to sweep off the dust of everyday life.
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
After surviving an assassination attempt, King of Qin summons a renowned warrior in hopes of uniting the Warring States of ancient China.
A man, thoroughly dissatisfied with his life, finds new meaning when he forms a fight club with soap salesman Tyler Durden.
A new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration in postwar France.
In a dystopian future, an undercover cop must infiltrate the worst ghetto in Paris to prevent nuclear war.
Damien and Leito return to bring peace to District 13 once again.
A priest finds himself torn between faith and bloodlust.
Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei and Toshiko welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion.
The spirit of a drug addict embarks on a psychedelic tour of life after death.
The story of Ouyang Feng and how he became the notorious Western Venom
A group of gunmen take over an Athens theater and stages a Greek tragedy with the audiences where art becomes reality.
A poor family lies and schemes their way into the employ of a wealthy household — successfully, but with great consequences.
It is time to sweep off the dust of everyday life.