Heaven Is Still Far Away review
(Letterboxd review)
(Copied from my Letterboxd review, which you can find here.)
2021 was a breakout year for Japanese writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Having released two films in the same year—Drive my Car and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (my personal fave)—his low-key and tranquil melodramas have garnered widespread critical acclaim and have warmed the hearts of film aficionados worldwide. But unveiling the curtain of his recent successes reveals a director whose oeuvre is consistent in its exploration of cinema as inexorably linked to performance and dramaturgy, and this is clearly evident in his 38–minute short film of 2016, Heaven Is Still Far Away.
Heaven Is Still Far Away follows the story of Yuzo, a mosaic engineer for pornography who shares a peculiar existence alongside a high school student named Mitsuki, both living in the same apartment. One day, Yuzo receives a call from Mitsuki's sister, a graduate filmmaker who wishes to interview him about his unique "relationship" with Mitsuki. Without spoiling the exceptional (or should I say supernatural) predicament that Hamaguchi slowly uncovers in the narrative, the emotional crux of these characters can essentially be boiled down to their struggle to reckon with guilt, regret and trauma amidst the indifferent passage of time.
Like most of Hamaguchi's films, he's interested in this idea of "truth-seeking through performance," where characters initially approach scenarios and people with specific facades and expectations only for the unpredictable and uncontrollable force of circumstance to slowly chip them away. As the mask disappears, we're left to tackle the situation before us; we choose to persevere despite the looming presence of our past businesses. This short film sees Hamaguchi deftly communicating all these ideas through his carefully composed static shots, formalist dialogue deliveries, focused and truncated movement of actors that emphasise the weight of conversations, all neatly grounded in realistic and intimate domestic settings.
Lesser-known and underrated works like these prove Hamaguchi an exciting filmmaker to explore whilst reinforcing his mastery for those already accustomed to his calm and unhurried cinematic style. As for those wanting more introspection and quietude in their films (or are daunted by the 3–hour runtime of Drive My Car), Heaven Is Still Far Away is a laid-back short that's got lots of heart and lots of room for our minds to wander in its serene atmosphere.
"There is a heaven above these clouds. It's not that I doubt it. But I can't leave here yet. Heaven is still far away." – Mitsuki.
Click the button below to watch the film (hopefully this won’t get taken down too)
*This was a more succinct, tabloid-friendly review. It was initially written as a contribution for my uni's student magazine, but it ultimately got rejected. I think it's a decently accessible and informative review, despite my typically long-winded and jargon-filled writings. Not gonna bother making this review more detailed, even though I see the potential to expand on Hamaguchi and Kiarostami's similarities on performance and realism. Eh, another time.