‘Between Us’ Review: Estranged Teenagers Process Past Tragedy Through High School Theater in Fitfully Ambitious Japanese Drama
Two teenagers from formerly close families reconnect through their school’s struggling drama club, six years after a camping trip left one family’s young son missing and both households traumatised. Shingo Matsumura’s Japanese drama uses their attempt to stage a play about the tragedy to explore grief, family estrangement and the possibility of reconciliation.
Ririka Kawashima plays Makoto, whose mother is emotionally devastated and whose father has left the family home; her childhood friend Kasumi’s family appears more settled, though it also carries lasting strain. The film focuses on the girls and their mothers as they confront the loss, while the review praises the performances and ambition but says the execution is uneven. It premiered in the Tokyo Film Festival’s Nippon Cinema Now section.
In short
- Two teenagers use school theatre to confront a family tragedy.
- The story follows grief and estrangement across two families.
- Strong performances support an ambitious but uneven drama.
Explained simply
In Japan, school drama clubs give students a place to rehearse and stage plays. In this story, two teenagers return to the club after years apart, as their families still live with the effects of a young boy’s disappearance during a camping trip.
Makoto’s parents have been deeply affected: her mother is struggling and her father has left home. Her childhood friend Kasumi’s family seems more settled, but the loss has also strained their lives. The girls and their mothers face the past as the students prepare a play about what happened.
The film centres on grief, family relationships and whether people can find a way to reconnect. It was shown in the Nippon Cinema Now section of the Tokyo Film Festival, which presents contemporary Japanese films.
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