Japanese Film LOVE LIFE-Life in Japan is Compact and Complex

The Japanese film LOVE LIFE is a contemporary drama that follows a young married woman, Taeko (Fumino Kimura) and her young son, Keita living in an urban setting. Taeko and her husband, Jiro, appear as a happily married couple. We meet them celebrating Keita's eight birthday along with Taeko's father-in-law's 65th. The celebration is marred by Taeko's hostile father-in-law who is rude to Taeko. The father-in-law is resentful of Taeko for marrying his son because she brought her son from her previous marriage. Taeko remains dignified and extracts a submissive apology from him with the aid of her mother-in-law. The party resumes happily until a terrible tragedy occurs. While playing with his new toy airplane in the bathroom, Keito strikes his head and drowns in the tub which was filled with water. This haunting film explores how Taeko and Jiro cope with their grief individually and its harrowing impact on their relationship. Taeko blames herself for forgetting to drain the tub. Taeko's in-laws' response to the child's death is also examined. The mother-in-law, the family peace maker, questions her need for religious convictions or spirituality. The father-in-law becomes remorseful and convinces his wife to move out of the city, distancing them from Jiro and Taeko, This suppressed film is intermittently jolted with major life-upsetting events along with earthquakes. The eerie earthquake warnings arrive over cell phones moments before they strike. Much of the movie is filmed within the tight confines of the minuscule space inside the couples apartment which contributes to a realistic fly-on-a-wall lens.  LOVE LIFE is a quietly churning film that is ruptured from the son's death. I was drawn into this congested drama viewed behind the decorum of polite, restrained Japanese society. The movie may prove slow and turgid for fans of fast paced predictable love stories which get neatly resolved. I recommend LOVE LIFE for the more discerning audience as a film which resonates with anguish, life's loneliness, and unrequited love, and ripples throughout with pensive moments of dignity and beauty.