Yuya Ishii’s latest film, The Moon , is a narrative puzzle with two stories vying for attention. The result is a complex, narrative that loses some of its potency by the chilling finale. However, there is a lot here that works, and it remains a film that is worth a couple of hours of your time.
Dojima Yoko (Miyazawa Rie) was once a popular novelist known for her novel about the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Still, she has since lost her drive to write. Seeking a change, she begins working at an institution for people with disabilities hidden within a forest. Not long after meeting the facility’s socially ostracised residents, Yoko is horrified to witness staff abusing them. Still, she is held together by empathetic young carer Sato (Isomura Hayato). Finding herself in an elder pregnancy, her worries increase, but what worries her more is Sato’s increasingly eccentric thoughts about the residents he is meant to care for.
Instead of solely focusing on what should be the main thread of The Moon, Yuya Ishii takes us on a long-winded piece of sensitively constructed melodrama (but melodrama all the same) in his 144-minute film. We follow Yoko as she tries to recover from the loss of her child and the trauma that has taken on her life. From the loss of her marriage to her career, she has become stuck in the proverbial rut of moving forward with her life. So, when a second chance does come around to be a mother, due to her age, she is rightfully terrified; she is seeing first-hand what happens to residents, and the thought that her unborn child could be forced to live a similar life is heartbreakingly too much to bear for one person.
That is a strong and captivating story that tackles all the right subjects, but as this is an adaptation, Ishii has other plans for how his film plays out, and it becomes the story of Sato. It almost feels like two stories are battling it out within the same film, and neither is getting the full respect and time to work. Two standalone films could easily resolve this struggle, but here we are. Worst of all for those watching The Moon is that you can see the strengths in both narrative threads, and for us not to get as much depth in either is disappointing. By not focusing as much runtime on Sato, it feels as if his actions later in the film are more for shock value than anything else, which they absolutely should not be considering that this is based on a truly devastating story.
Perhaps I am wrong, and instead of being there for shock value, Ishii wanted to just jolt his audience into shock. Either way, it doesn’t entirely work as well as we need it to. Especially so when we consider the horror that he inflicts on the audience with what is happening in that care facility. It’s all too much to keep a strong focus on.
However, despite all of that, there is a good film trying to catch its breath underneath all the tangled narratives. Each character we focus on is given plenty of layers for us to become interested in their portion of the story (again, just not enough to fully satisfy). They may not be likeable, especially in one character’s case, but you are allowed to form that opinion of them thanks to the acting and writing of the characters. For the most part, The Moon is shot as a typical drama, which in this case works in its favour; there is not a strong artistic style to the film that allows it to distract. It does the opposite by dulling itself and even the score down a tad; it makes those moments of horror that we do see hit all the harder. It’s a bold but successful choice.
In a film that is tackling such tough subjects, The Moon needs a strong cast to complement the script, and this is a film that has been cast to perfection. We have characters who can break down one second and sting you with their words the next believably. For a lot of the film, we have characters who feel they need to be defensive. So when those hard truths of the events of the film come hurtling towards us, they make or break whether we feel enough for them and those around them. It’s unflinching in its boldness, forcing us to watch and ponder what we would do in some characters’ situations when confronted with what they are confronted with.
In the end, while The Moon is solid and worthwhile viewing, it is just that ounce too ambitious for its own good to earn what it tries to accomplish. By trying to weave and grasp the three stories, it loses itself enough that it becomes unwieldy, which is a true shame as, thanks to the performances of the cast, it deserves to be more than that.
★★★ 1/2
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2025 takes place in cinemas around the UK from 7 February – 31 March 2025.
For further information: https://www.jpf-film.org.uk/
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