Japanese director Kore-eda’s manga film charms critics in Venice

A manga film adaptation by acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda has emerged as one of the frontrunners for prizes at the Venice Film Festival this week.

“Look Back” by the arthouse director, whose past work includes 2018 award-winner “Shoplifters”, tells the story of two school friends who dream of becoming manga artists.

The tender coming-of-age tale is based on a popular story by Tatsuki Fujimoto which manga-loving Kore-eda discovered by accident during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“After reading this manga, it was as if someone had pushed me to move forward, had somehow encouraged me,” the director told reporters on Monday.

Judged by the reviews of international critics at the festival, “Look Back” has emerged as a favorite alongside “Possible Love” by Korea’s Lee Chang-dong and “Wild Horse Nine” by Irish-British director Martin McDonagh.

Film magazine Variety called “Look Back” a “moving tribute to friendship” while the IndieWire website said it drew “rich and dazzling new textures from manga and anime.”

Not everyone was convinced, with a review from Screen magazine saying it was “overly sentimental”.

In total, 21 productions are vying for the Golden Lion prize for best film at the Venice Film Festival, with others to come before the closing ceremony on Saturday.

Kore-eda is looking to benefit from a global surge in the popularity of manga by choosing the commercially successful work of Fujimoto whose other leading titles include “Chainsaw Man” and “Fire Punch”.

“When I was a child, we were told that if all we read was manga, we wouldn’t grow up properly. Now, these days, manga is spreading everywhere … so we can read it without anyone criticising us,” he told a press conference. 

The hard-working 64-year-old is a favorite on the European festival circuit.

He presented “Sheep in the Box” at the Cannes Film Festival in May about a grieving Japanese couple who welcome a humanoid robot into their home, but he went home empty-handed on awards night.

“Usually in my head, I’m already preparing for about three movies at a time,” he told AFP and other journalists on Tuesday.

He is best-known for his stories about struggling ordinary people, often inspired by real events, including “Like Father, Like Son” or “Nobody Knows”.