Romance

Over the Fence

オーバー・フェンス

Directed by: Nobuhiro Yamashita
Directed by: Hideki Hoshino
2016 / 112 minutes / Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

日本語の解説は映画.comへ

A SUBTLE, POIGNANT DRAMA ABOUT FALLING IN LOVE AND GETTING HURT—AND FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN.

Screened as part of JFF 2017

Following a traumatic split from his wife, Shiraiwa (Joe Odagiri, Her Love Boils Bathwater; Midnight Diner) returns to his hometown of Hakodate and attempts to start a new life as a carpenter. He attends a vocational school and spends his days in contemplative solitude. He also makes friends with some baseball teammates from school, an odd bunch of sleazy retirees and smooth-talking young men, and occasionally goes out for drinks. Some of them are jaded with life, some are content just getting by—but it’s summer and maybe, just maybe, they’ll find a glimmer of hope in the sunshine.

One evening, Shiraiwa visits a hostess bar upon his classmate Daishima’s (Shota Matsuda) invitation. In there he meets the eccentric part-time hostess Satoshi (Yu Aoi) and something clicks —is it mere physical attraction or something more enigmatic that lies beneath the exterior?

In true Nobuhiro Yamashita (Linda Linda Linda) fashion, Over the Fence blends whimsical humour and subtle drama. We often see the different characters laughing but Yamashita slowly peels away their exterior to reveal a more deep-seated sadness. Despite being set in an impoverished country town, Yamashita delivers a gentle, humorous film and realistically captures relationships and the emotional baggages that sometimes come with them.

Over The Fence is the third in a series of film adaptations of Yasushi Sato’s collection of short stories set in Hakodate, which includes The Light Shines Only There (JFF 2014). It won the Best Actor and Best Actress award at the 8th TAMA Movie Awards.

Audience warning: This film contains moderate themes and mild language, sexual content and nudity.
Screens in:

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita

Producer: Hideki Hoshino

Original Story: Yasushi Sato

Director: Hideki Hoshino

Cast: Joe Odagiri, Yu Aoi, Shota Matsuda, Yukiya Kitamura, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Takumi Matsuzawa and Tsunekichi Suzuki

Genre: Romance

Format: DCP colour