Mio on the Shore

Ryutaro Nakagawa's 2019 Japanese film follows Mio, twenty, who runs an inn in Nagano with her grandmother. When her grandmother falls ill, Mio moves to Tokyo to stay with her father's old friend and begins working at the public bath he runs. The bath is due to be demolished soon. Mio works knowing this and comes to know the people of the neighbourhood; the narrative does not try to prevent the demolition but shows the time remaining. The subject is a place in the state before it closes. The shops, the regulars and the daily habits of the neighbourhood are recorded in detail; the camera is static and the pace very low. Honoka Matsumoto leads and her character barely speaks. Who it's for: those who like quiet Japanese drama and place-driven narrative. Who it's not for: viewers expecting dramatic development; no large event occurs across the film.