Fujina is a manga whiz. Precocious and popular, she’s happy hanging with friends and drawing weekly strips for her grade school publication. One day she meets her match in Kyomoto, a homeschooled student with a dazzling technique. Soon, the two are close collaborators, creating mangas together and enjoying great success. Everything is wonderful — until one day, just before graduation, Kyomoto breaks the partnership…
Taking us from triumph through tragedy and out the other side, Kore-eda Hirokazu’s film has all the grace and tenderness VIFF audiences know him for. With Look Back, the master once again immerses himself in the dreamy world of youth, this time taking on the very nature of storytelling. From the small scratches of pencil on paper to the distant, muted rumble of trains, Kore-eda gives us a work as sensually delectable as it is moving. As always, his direction of actors is superb: Fujina and Kyomoto are each played by two different actresses to track their aging, and the performances of all four are seamlessly matched.
Natsuki Deguchi, Aju Makita, Furi Nanase, Rokka Okada
Japan
2026
In Japanese with English subtitles
Violence
Open to youth
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Muneyuki Kii
Producer
Daiju Koide
Screenwriter
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cinematography
Senzo Ueno
Editor
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Production Design
Shinsuke Kojima
Original Music
Yuta Bandoh
Kore-eda Hirokazu
Filmography: Shoplifters (2018); Monster (2023); Sheep in the Box (2026)
Photo by Mikiya Takimoto
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