Written by, starring, and directed by Mayumi Yoshida in her feature debut, Akashi is a gorgeous and affecting tragic romance. Split between two timelines, Akashi tracks a relationship between two star-crossed lovers in post-war Japan, and the effects of their love on their families two generations later. The script is smart and substantive, providing the stellar cast with great material, as Yoshida’s directing ensures the most emotionally charged moments each stick the landing.

Akashi stars Yoshida as Kana, a graphic designer working in Vancouver who returns to Tokyo to attend her grandmother’s funeral. Reunited with her family for the first time in ten years, Kana feels out of place: she’s out of the loop on family drama, hasn’t kept up with her university friends, and the people she was closest to – her grandmother and grandfather – are both gone. As Kana reminisces about her grandmother, she remembers a conversation the two had in which it was revealed that her grandparents were in an arranged marriage. To hear her grandmother tell it, Kana’s grandfather actually loved someone else.

Akashi tells the parallel stories of Kana and her grandfather. As Kana reconnects with an old flame in the present day, the story of her grandfather’s romance is woven throughout. The romances play out over drastically different timelines. Kana’s relationship with Hiro (Ryo Tajima) takes place over a week, with relevant details filled in naturally through their conversations. Kana’s grandfather’s relationship with Wakako (Chieko Matsubara) is shown in full, from their days as doe-eyed young lovers, all the way to their last almost-meeting in the twilights of their lives.

Visually, the storylines are distinguished by Kana’s scenes being in black and white, while the past is rendered in full colour. The effect keeps the modern scenes feeling small-scale and intimate, while the past takes on a warm, nostalgic feeling, lending extra emotional weight to the story of Kana’s grandfather.Akashi presents a beautiful story about a love that persists despite all odds, for better and for worse, impacting two families over multiple generations. Presented alongside Kana’s own uncertainty about her future, a story about a forbidden love that couldn’t be becomes a lesson on responsibility and duty to family, a cautionary tale to seize opportunities when they come, and so much more than the uncomfortable family secret it initially seems.

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Akashi