Movie review: Human fragility meets resilience in Ryoichi Kimizuka’s ‘Reunion’

In March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake followed by a massive tsunami devastated eastern Japan, leaving over 19,000 dead in one of modern history's deadliest calamities.

Known as the Tohoku Earthquake or the Great East Japan Earthquake, the incident changed Japan forever.

When the Japanese nation began to realize the extent of the damage wrought by the tragedy, people started breaking down and losing hope.

“Reunion” (“Itai Asu e no tokakan”) is the dramatization of the story of Mr. Aiba, a retired funeral business expert who volunteers his services in a school gymnasium-turned-morgue when he witnesses the uncaring manner the deceased are treated by the survivors following retrieval operations after the disaster.

The film begins with various depictions of Japanese life in the city of Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture before the tragedy.

Half of the prefecture is ravaged, with the tsunami starts swallowing Kamaishi while the mountainside area, separated from it only by a tunnel, remains virtually unharmed.

The story focuses on the events in a temporary morgue where disoriented city officials, including police, social workers and doctors, sloppily attempt to retrieve, identify and send off the deceased.

Enter Mr. Aiba, who pays a visit to the temporary morgue and laments the horrible treatment the deceased are receiving – getting dropped, stepped on and having their bones broken due to rigor mortis.

He relays the situation to the mayor and, due to his expertise, is given authority to take over the temporary morgue.

Mr. Aiba then slowly influences the city officials to treat the dead with care and respect – as if they were still living – which strengthens each of the characters who are also shown to have emotional breakdowns.

“Reunion” is basically a simple film which aims to portray realistically the events following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

There are minimal special effects, and instead of the commonly used dramatic scoring to aid in kicking up emotions, there is only silence, broken up by the occasional desperate wailing of characters.

The scenes and background were also shot to have a dark grayish tint, adding to the distress of the setting.

Even with these simple film techniques, “Reunion” gets its point across; this is fully realized when viewers question themselves what they would do if placed in the characters' positions.

There were tear-jerking moments, especially when characters started to break down – usually when a friend is brought in as part of the death toll.

Although the film breaks your heart midway, Mr. Aiba always finds a way to pick up the pieces in the face of adversity and uses his affection to usher viewers to think and hope for the coming of tomorrow.

All in all, “Reunion” weds human fragility and resilience in a dramatic telling of woe and suffering where people use their will and cooperation to restore their hope for a new day. — BM, GMA News

“Reunion” will be part of the Japanese Foundation, Manila's Eiga Sai film festival from July 3 to 13 at Shangri-La Plaza's Cinema 4.