Straddling Two Time Periods and Several Very Different Women, Kei Isikawa’s A pale view of hills GIVES VIEWERS A LOT TO CHEW ON. It aims to be bot a snapshot at a very specific moment in history and an exploration of motherhood, the impact of war, and grief. When i caught it at the Toronto International Film Festival, I Very Much Wanted to Enjoy it, But Something Held with Back from Connecting Completely.
The Dual Timeline Begins in 1952 Nagasaki, Japan, Seven Years after the atomic bomb. Housewife Etsuko (Suzu Hirose) is Building a Home with Her Husband Jiro (Kôhei Matsushita) in A City Gradually Putting ITSELF Back Together Following the War. With jiro offen working, etsuko finds Herself Drawn Toward Sachiko (Shogun‘s fumi nikaidō), a mysterious Woman who sparks intrigue due to her relations with an american solidier and her wild child.
Years late, in 1982 England, A pale view of hills Turst its attention to an Older Etsuko (Yoh Yoshida) and Her Daughter Niki (Camilla Aiko) As they Clear out the former’s home in preparation of a Move. Niki, A Journalism Student, Is Eager to Learn More About Her Mother’s Past Life in Nagasaki, But As As As ASSS Her Questions and Learns More of the past, the memory of her decesed sister threatens to overwhelm.
A pale view of Hills has interesting ideas and gorgeous visuals, but not enough depth
Based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, A pale view of hills is an ambitious film that, Despite Looking Very Beautiful, doesn’t make the impact that it wants to. Visually, isikawa gives the film a dream-like Quality that is perfect for an introspective tale like this, weaving the past and present as etsuko Share more of the story.
There’s Also a haunting tone with the film, with theme of LoSing Children Looming Large. Keiko, Etsuko’s Daughter and Niki’s Sister, died Someime before the 1982 storyline, and her loss permeates that whole arc. It seams to extend into the past, as there have ben a string of child deaths in 1952 that are not far from anyone’s Mind.
Along with the post-war scars Most Characters Carry-Some Event Literally- A pale view of hills has a lot of subtext to contest with. Still, Outside of Etsuko, Few Characters Feel Very Fleshed-Out or Accessible. One Could Argue that is by Design, Consider the Twist that it is at the end, but it means we spend most of the movie just trying to break to the People we’re watching.
The Cast is Strong and Makes an Effort to Bridge the Gap. Hirose and Yoshida Both resonate as the two generations of etsuko, with yoshida especilly shining with a darker aspect of the character. Nikaidō is good as sachiko, though her character is the most thinly-written and thus hard to pin down. Aiko Gets Several Excellent Moments As Niki Gets Closer to Her Mother’s Truth.
We have learn the truth, which is one that reframes the whole Movie, It Hollow Rings With Shock Value Rather than something was gradually built up. The Signs were there, yes, but the tone of the overall ending is at Odds with what we’d witnessed before. It comes across as something that spreads belongs to a different film.
This leaves A pale view of hills in a strange position. SO MUCH of the film is melancholic and beautifully relevant, but would be coma to budilding up the Characters and the Nesssary Intrigue, IT Lacks any Real Weight. Ultimately, it is a gorgeous film that is empty inside despite all of it interesting ideas and good intensions. I kept hoping for more, and i was instead left out in the Cold.
A pale view of hills Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
- Release Date
- September 5, 2025
- Runtime
- 123 minutes
- Directory
- Kei isikawa
- Wriers
- Kei isikawa
- Producers
- Elizabeth Karlsen, Mariusz Włodarski, Hiroaki Ishiguro, Miyuki Fukuma
- Visually, the film is Beautiful and Holds an approprately Dream-like Quality.
- The Lead Actors Are All Strong.
- The characters are ofne thinly-written, Making it hard to connect with say.
- The final reveal feeds more like shock value rather than an Earned reveal.
- The Mismatched tones make it hard to connect with the story on a deeper level.
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