‘Brand New Landscape’ review: Debut explores a Tokyo family in crisis

Dir: Yuiga Danzuka. Japan. 2025. 115mins

Two siblings have very totally different emotional reactions to attainable reconciliation with their estranged father in Yuiga Danzuka’s first function Model New Panorama, a measured and intimate exploration of familial and concrete disconnection whose attain often surpasses its grasp. Danzuka’s debut doesn’t at all times make the metaphor as clean because it might be, however the contemplative tone, trustworthy performances and hushed commentary – paying homage to Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist – make for elegant viewing.

An unvarnished exploration of the emotional fallout of indifference, guilt and redemption

Danzuka’s solely movie to this point is the 2022 brief Far, Far Away, and Model New Panorama represents a big leap in thematic scope and manufacturing polish. Festivals will likely be eager to listen to a recent voice from the area after the movie premieres in Cannes Administrators’ Fortnight. Artwork home distributors at dwelling in Asia Pacific ought to take an curiosity, and the movie’s 2:1 taking pictures ratio makes it prepared for streaming platforms.

Till just lately, granular examinations of households in disaster have been a rarity in Japanese cinema in addition to within the wider APAC area, and the crises have normally pivoted on sickness, infidelity or intergenerational battle. Up to now few years, nonetheless, filmmakers have been more and more prepared to drill down into extra unstated subject material, reminiscent of Tom Lin’s Yen and Ai-lee from Taiwan, about home violence and Hong Kong director Anselm Chan’s The Final Dance, in regards to the influence of rigorous religion on households. Model New Panorama, whereas much less topical, is nonetheless an unvarnished exploration of the emotional fallout of indifference, guilt and redemption inside the household.

Set in opposition to the backdrop of a always evolving and regularly isolating Tokyo, Danzuka posits the household itself as a always evolving entity that may be equally as lonely and tough to navigate. Model New Panorama begins with the Takanos heading out on a household trip; a uncommon prevalence resulting from panorama architect Hajime’s (veteran Kenichi Endo, Kubi) demanding work schedule. As 12 year-old Ren (Arao Rintaro) performs soccer and 18 year-old Emi (Ishida Riko) reads, Hajime and his spouse Yumiko (Haruka Igawa) get right into a recurring argument over his lack of presence.

He argues the additional work will assist his agency and provides him time down the highway; she’s bored with the justifications. Danzuka’s lengthy photographs and nonetheless frames gracefully sign how the Takanos relate to one another in addition to their area. Yumiko is rarely seen clearly; the commonest sound is Hajime’s always buzzing telephone. Finally he heads again to Tokyo.

Ten years later, Ren (now performed by Kodai Kurosaki, recalling a younger Masaki Suda) and Emi (Mai Kiryu) are estranged from their father, who left Japan after their mom’s demise. They awkwardly re-engage after he and Ren run into one another at a gallery internet hosting an exhibition of Hajime’s work. Notably, the present features a reference to Miyashita Park in Shibuya, whose real-life redevelopment triggered a stir for displacing the neighborhood of unhoused individuals who had been residing there. Emi agrees to a reunion, if solely to tell Hajime that she’s getting married.

Model New Panorama does a sublime job of illustrating Ren and Emi’s unsettled lives and their divergent reactions to their mother and father’ absence. Effectively into their twenties, each siblings proceed to wrestle with emotions of guilt, abandonment and anger. It’s the movie’s quiet moments, reminiscent of Ren’s complicated response to seeing his father, or Emi’s doubts about the place her romantic relationship is heading, which can be strongest and most humanistic. Relative newcomer Kurosaki is pitch excellent in his studied aloofness, and Endo – finest identified for enjoying gangsters – takes the chance to be extra than simply intimidating, conveying Hajime’s personal bewilderment over methods to relate to his household.

Danzuka’s language veers off observe in a curious third act flip in the direction of fantasy, getting away from the introspection and managed compositions of the primary half to dabble with random direct digital camera work that seasoned administrators may keep away from – or may use extra constantly. The try and liken Tokyo’s sprawling anonymity with familial disconnection is a free hyperlink at finest, however a minor quibble in an in any other case assured debut.