Summer Sands

Adapted from the stage play by Masataka Matsuda, which won the Yomiuri Literature Award for Best Drama Script, this film is set in a rainless Nagasaki summer. It tells the story of Osamu Koura (played by Joe Odagiri), a man whose life has come to a standstill after the loss of his son. Abandoned by his wife Keiko (played by Matsu Takako), he begins living with his 17-year-old niece Yuko (played by Akari Takaishi), left in his care by his sister Asako (played by Hikari Mitsushima). As Osamu catches glimpses of his former shipyard colleagues Jinno (played by Naotaro Moriyama) and Mochida (played by Ken Mitsuishi) while Keiko retrieves their son's memorial tablet, Yuko meets her senior colleague Tateyama (played by Fumiya Takahashi) at her part-time job. A man who has lost love, a woman who has abandoned love, and a girl who doesn't understand love—each faces their own sorrows, discovering small sprouts of hope in their hearts, as dry as summer sands.