Warwick Arts Centre
November 21, 2026 @ 00:00
A double actress award was bestowed on Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for their performances in Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s intertwined stories of two women (screened in Competition earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival). One is French and runs a care facility for the elderly, while the other is a Japanese theatre director battling cancer.
Marie-Lou (Efira) strives to introduce an innovative care philosophy based on listening and respecting residents’ dignity, despite resistance from part of her staff.
Her encounter with Mari (Okamoto) will profoundly reshape her path. By forming a deep, supportive friendship, the two women join forces in a shared struggle to “make the impossible possible.” The film, Hamaguchi’s first to be shot outside Japan, can be defined as a life-affirming ode to friendship at the edge of mortality.
"The rarest type of film, not merely good enough to remind you what cinema can be, but great enough to remind you what life can be. "
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