Memorizu

Things have changed since Shakespeare’s day and now all the world’s not so much a stage but a frame to the millions of us with phone cameras seeking to capture a moment to act as an aide memoire or to share with others. Miiku Sakanishi’s gentle debut cumulatively uses these framing moments to build a movingly humanistic consideration of family and community relationships, while also musing on our connection to photography itself.

Yuta (Tatsuku Emoto) explains to his young daughter that he is going to be away from her and her mum Yuki (Moeka Hoshi) for “60 sleeps”. He’s heading from bustling Tokyo to a rural backwater on the island of Kyushu to help his father-in-law Makoto (Issey Ogata) recover from a broken leg. Makoto is an old school photographer, who commemorates class photos and important events.

Sakanishi’s film is, in some ways, all about the little things and the ways in which they add up within the everyday nature of our lives. At the same time, there’s a wider philosophical element, concerning our relationship with photographs. The way we use them to commemorate, celebrate or, in the modern era, simply to reinforce our connection with others.

As Yuta sinks into the rhythms of Makoto’s neighbourhood, he swaps photos and videos with Yuta and Yuki. In between opening the shop for Makoto, he also walks the dog, which gives him a regular view of the district. Tiny bells on the back of a bicycle remind him of home, while a washing line holds messages that make him smile. Yuki, too, takes snapshots of the Chinese tourists she helps through her job.

Sakanishi is observant, also highlighting through his often locked off shots, how many natural frames there are in our lives, including windows, at sea and on land, and doors.

By showing what Yuta does take photos of, we are also able to see all the important moments when he doesn’t. A shared regular greeting with a man and a horse in a field, for example, or the pleasure of a sandwich surrounded by nature. There’s also observations around routine, for example, the difference, even in a quiet place, that can be seen by simply choosing to take a walk at a different time.

Sakanishi also nudges at the things a photo doesn’t reveal unless it is seen by someone who was there. Why, for example, the family look so smiling and relaxed in the promotional still of the film despite there being, apparently, a fire raging in the distance behind them.

Formal photography is also offered up for scrutiny. The way that having a photo taken in a studio setting can turn it into an event, and the craft of Makoto to raise a smile or get the perfect shot even within the stiffness of that arrangement.

It has been a good 12 months for quietly observed Japanese films, with Two Seasons, Two Strangers winning the Golden Leopard and Locarno and now Memorizu taking home the Best New Director award at Tribeca. They’d make a lovely double bill.

Reviewed on: 03 Jul 2026