When Kaho (Aoba Kawai) and Tomoya (Ryuta Okamoto) announce their engagement at a celebratory dinner with friends, they are unprepared for the emotional turmoil that is unleashed once a prior infidelity comes to light. Later that evening, Tomoya is invited to the apartment of his former classmate, Takako (Fusako Urabe), leading to further revelations of passion and indiscretion.

The debut theatrical feature from one of today’s preeminent auteurs, PASSION displays Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s rich and nuanced insight into modern relationships while offering a “fitting precursor to his later masterworks” (Film Inquiry) such as Happy Hour, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, and the Oscar-winning Drive My Car.

“Like certain influential early career films that preceded it, PASSION has a low-fi, hangout feel, flush with the youthful indie energy... Hamaguchi is still a student but already finding his voice.” –The New York Times

DIRECTED BY RYUSUKE HAMAGUCHI
JAPAN | 2008 | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES