Weekend films

'Innocence', exciting Japanese drama at child height

In cinemas, the powerful new feature by Hirokazu Kore-Eda, the Japanese director who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes with 'A Family Affair'

by Andrea Chimento

22 August 2024

3' min read

Key points

An engaging operation that grows with distance
Cattivissimo me 4

3' min read

One of the most exciting titles of the season: this is how one can describe 'Innocence', a new film by Hirokazu Kore-Eda, who returned to Japan to make a feature film after a French production, 'The Truths', and a South Korean one, 'The Good Stars - Broker'.

The return to his homeland did Kore-Eda a lot of good. With this film, he manages to strike those very deep chords already reached in the past with such splendid products as 'Father and Son' and 'A Family Affair'.

Set in a quiet town near a lake, 'Innocence' features little Minato, the son of a very affectionate and equally apprehensive single mother. One day the child returns from school and the woman notices that he is behaving strangely: there has been a moment of disorder at school, which, on the surface, seems to have stemmed from a simple fight between children, but in reality hides something much more complicated. Minato's mother senses that the teacher is responsible and wants to investigate further.

Presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2023, 'Innocence' is a work in which Kore-Eda returns to the fundamental themes of his cinema: from the relationship between parents and children to that of childhood, treated with the usual delicacy by a director who has often positioned his camera at child height (think also in this sense of the very powerful 'Nobody Knows').

“L’innocenza” e gli altri film della settimana
Photogallery4 foto

An engaging operation that grows with distance

The central event of the narrative is told from different perspectives: starting with that of the mother figure, then moving on to that of the teacher, and finally to that of the very young protagonist.

A masterpiece of Japanese film history such as Akira Kurosawa's 'Rashomon' may come to mind, observing the structure of a film that grows minute by minute, reaching emotional heights in the second half that are difficult to match by other films seen in theatres this year.

Kore-Eda treats complicated issues - from bullying to fake news - with his usual delicacy and paints an intense coming-of-age story that is capable of excitement and also delivers a series of incisive twists.

Remarkable, too, is the work of the entire cast, but a special mention goes to the touching soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto, the famous composer who passed away a couple of months before the presentation of this film at last year's Cannes Film Festival.

Cattivissimo me 4

Also highly anticipated is 'Despicable Me 4', a film that is set to conquer the box office in the coming weeks.

The fourth instalment in the saga starring Gru, this new feature sees him in paternal guise, but the loving family atmosphere is threatened by the fearsome thirst for revenge of Maxime Le Mal, a super-villain who has recently escaped from prison.

Seven years after the third instalment (but in between there was the second 'Minions' film in 2022), 'Despicable Me 4' is a product that completely recycles ideas that have already been seen and tries to live solely on the success of its predecessors.

A few gags work, but the overall design is bafflingly lazy, incapable of renewal and of succeeding in creating entertainment truly worthy of the name.

For the box office, it will probably still be enough, but from a production with this budget and this potential, much more can be expected.