In ‘Great Absence,’ a Son Unravels His Father’s Mystery Amid Dementia

When dementia takes center stage in a household, the profound sense of loss begins early. This unsettling scenario, where confusion grips everyone involved, is the focus of Japanese filmmaker Kei Chika-ura’s intricately moving film, “Great Absence.” The movie explores the themes of a father’s dementia and an estranged son’s journey to uncover the past.

Chika-ura, along with screenwriter Keita Kumano, crafts an exceptional screenplay that serves as a model of narrative empathy. Featuring a compelling portrayal of decline by the legendary Tatsuya Fuji, known for “In the Realm of the Senses,” the film offers keen insight into a difficult situation while intriguingly leaving some aspects of the heart and mind mysterious.

The story begins when Tokyo-based actor Takashi, played by Mirai Moriyama, learns that his retired professor father, Yohji (Fuji), has been involved in a troubling police incident. Reluctantly, Takashi decides to travel to his island hometown in Kyushu, not out of love but out of a sense of responsibility. Having been a child of divorce, Takashi has stayed away from his father for many years.

With his producer wife Yuki (Yoko Maki) by his side for support, Takashi helps Yohji transition into a care facility. The old man mistakenly believes it to be a prison in another country. As Takashi begins sifting through his father’s cluttered home, filled with remnants of a long life and scrawled reminders everywhere, he realizes a mystery is unfolding: Yohji’s second wife, Naomi (Hideko Hara), seems to have vanished.

With Yohji unable to provide reliable information and Naomi’s embittered adult son from her previous marriage being evasive, Takashi must piece together the story of Yohji and Naomi’s life himself. He discovers a rich resource in a thick diary stuffed with letters that tell a complicated and revelatory love story.

The film’s power is amplified by its time-shifting structure, blending the recent past with the present narrative like alternating currents. Through flashbacks starting from one of Takashi’s tense visits home, we witness a long marriage strained under Yohji’s worsening condition and Naomi’s unwavering, yet diminishing endurance. Fuji’s portrayal of Yohji is utterly vivid, while Hara beautifully renders Naomi’s suffering with understated elegance.

In the present day, Takashi, delving into the diary as if preparing for a challenging role, gradually becomes unmoored by revelations of his father’s emotional life that he never knew existed. This stands in stark contrast to Takashi’s memories of being subjected to his father’s disapproving judgment.

“Great Absence,” subtly acknowledging its pandemic time frame, imbues an extra layer of isolating sadness. The film astutely depicts an aging society’s impact on the next generation. This includes the differences in the dynamics of Yohji and Naomi’s patriarchal marriage compared to Takashi and Yuki’s more equitable relationship. It also reflects the ripple effects of a difficult man suddenly requiring help.

Chika-ura’s patient yet tightly woven storytelling in “Great Absence” creates a novelistic feel as it explores one man’s fading sense of self. As Yohji disappears into the abyss of dementia, he unexpectedly finds a place in his distant son’s consciousness. The film becomes a mesmerizing and touching transference of understanding across time and memory.

Source: Los Angeles Times