Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
France, Japan, Germany, Belgium | 2026 | Fiction | 196 min | French, Japanese w/ subtitles
Sponsored by Barbara McGrew
Monday, October 19 | 7:00 PM | FH
It feels like the whole world is grieving right now, and this running theme in many of the year’s films extends to Japanese auteur Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s (Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Evil Does Not Exist) latest opus. All of a Sudden is a poignant snapshot of this moment in time, but what makes this towering film so essential, even radical, is that it is not despairing; even as it diagrams the no-win proposition of capitalism and its current death-spiral, this poetic and philosophical movie is brimming with optimism and hope. The story encompasses a great many things but is essentially about two women—Marie-Lou (Virginie Efira), who manages an assisted living facility, and Mari (Tao Okamoto), an artist with a terminal illness (jointly awarded the prize for Best Actress at Cannes)—who form an instant, profound connection in their brief time together. Packaged within this intimate drama is a meditative celebration of irreducible human compassion, delivered with Hamaguchi’s signature skill for proportion, that gently erodes your cynicism. There’s no denying that Hamaguchi is working at a very high level right now, and this generous movie—full of inhabited performances, theatricality, and unassuming visual mastery—is every bit the equal of his Oscar-winner, Drive My Car. ~OO