Au revoir l'été

After dark comedy Hospitalite, writer-director Fukada Koji tells the gentle story of two young people on the cusp of adulthood searching for themselves in Au revoir l'ete. Rising star Nikaido Fumi (Himizu) plays Sakuko, a young woman who has arrived in a seaside town for summer vacation with her aunt. There, she meets Takashi (Taiga), a "nuclear refugee" who has moved to the town from Fukushima Prefecture to work at his uncle's love hotel. Over the course of two weeks, the pair develops a close bond as those around them fall into various personal crises. A dryly amusing story about love, youth and the loss of innocence, Au revoir l’ete has earned critical acclaim from audiences at film festivals around the world, including the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Rotterdam Film Festival and the Festival des 3 Continents in France. Tidbit - Director Fukada's liking for French rather than English titles is a deliberate nod towards the Gallic walking-and-talking cinema he admires, and there are strong echoes throughout of the late Eric Rohmer's films, especially Pauline at the Beach (Pauline à la plage, 1983), with its teenage central character who observes elders' foibles as well as going through a small learning experience of her own.