During the 2010s, Tetsuya Nakashima felt like the closest thing Japan had to its own Nicolas Winding Refn, a purveyor of violent, hyperstylized nihilism that somehow managed to command a mainstream audience. With ¡°The Brightest Sun,¡± his first film in eight years, the boundary-pushing director of ¡°Confessions¡± (2010) and ¡°The World of Kanako¡± (2014) offers his boldest provocation yet: hope.
There¡¯s little in the film¡¯s opening scenes to suggest that it will be heading anywhere but into the depths of despair. Hidetoshi Nishijima plays Mitsuo, a hard-drinking private investigator looking into the murder of a former colleague, Yoichi (Jiro Sato). Much to his chagrin, he¡¯s accompanied by Satoko (Hikari Mitsushima), a trainee who¡¯s just as screwed-up as he is.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.