There Was Such a Thing Before

In this quiet, enigmatic drama, Matsui Yoshihiko reflects on the toll of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in the lives of its townspeople. Time has passed since Akira lost his mother. Now, he sets off to find his father who works to decontaminate the region.

Time stands still in the silent streets of Fukushima. Radioactive residues continue to taint the lives of the citizens with a slow, invisible anxiety, trapping them between past wounds and future uncertainties. As his old home was highly exposed to radiation, leading to his mother’s death, young Akira grows up aimless and uprooted. In his search for his lost father, he is assisted by Yuji, the owner of a down-at-heels surfboard shop, as well as a concerned classmate, Shinichi, who becomes increasingly entangled in Akira’s story.

Matsui Yoshihiko, who emerged as a strong figure of 1980s jishu eiga-underground cinema, returns after an 18-year hiatus. His fourth film, There Was Such a Thing Before, is a deeply moving drama with its own peculiar poetry and fragile beauty. Yet Matsui remains faithful to the underdog types of his earlier works – those who are left behind, overlooked or harbour a degree of anger towards the world. Unexpected bonds and moments of tenderness that grow between them challenge the sanitised attitude towards handling a disaster. Perhaps, to care for one another is to risk contamination. 

– Dini Adanurani

Trailer

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