appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

James Mottram

4/5 stars
Unveiled in competition at the Venice International Film Festival just three months after he took the somewhat disappointing Sheep in the Box to Cannes, Hirokazu Koreeda’s Look Back – in which a childhood friendship shapes an artistic dream – is an elegant work that once again underlines the Japanese director’s preternatural skills at working with young actors.
The film is full of surprises and beautifully rendered, much like the manga at the heart of the story.
Adapted from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s work – which was turned into an equally charming animated feature of the same name in 2024 – Koreeda’s film begins as Fujino (Furi Nanase) is encouraged by her teacher to reach out to fellow fourth-grade pupil Kyomoto (Rokka Okada), a reclusive girl who, like Fujino, loves to draw.


At first, she is a little upset when she overhears someone say that her artwork looks “kind of average” next to Kyomoto’s. But whatever jealousy she feels washes away when she meets the shy Kyomoto, who later explains she “stopped going to school” because she got “scared of people”.
Ignoring her sister, who warns her that in middle school she will be seen as a “creepy manga nerd”, Fujino is a driving force who dreams that one day her and Kyomoto’s work will be turned into anime.
Koreeda seamlessly advances the narrative in time to when the girls are a little older. Now played respectively by Natsuki Deguchi and Aju Makita, Fujino and Kyomoto have made good on their collaboration, publishing under the pen name Kyo Fujino.

Their first effort is good enough to impress an editor, who cannot believe that two teenagers have managed such dexterity on the page. With Fujino full of ideas for further manga (including Shark Kick, about a vengeful shark that takes on humans), her dream seems set.
But the story’s final third takes a very unusual turn, one that shows childhood fantasies can sometimes be crushed by unanticipated realities.
Handled with Koreeda’s usual warmth and accompanied by a soaring score, the film finds one of its greatest pleasures in watching the girls at their desks, drawing, shading and sketching.
Paying great attention to their surroundings (in the wintry north of rural Japan) and their clothing (Kyomoto’s green cardigan and bright yellow coat really pop), Koreeda delivers a film awash with childhood memories, both sad and special.

While the film emerges as something akin to Lukas Dhont’s Close (2022), which also detailed the intense friendship of two youngsters, it is a shame that the finale of Look Back slightly loses its way. Brisker editing might have helped by cutting back on some of the dreamier sequences.
This flaw is certainly not enough to derail the film, but it perhaps stops a very respectable work from becoming a masterful one.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


Mariko Mori’s ‘All That Shines’ at Mori Art Museum: inside her landmark Tokyo exhibition

Venice 2026: 10 of the festival’s best movies, from Woman Unknown to Possible Love and Musk

Venice 2026: Arrested Memory movie review – Ethan Ruan leads Sabu’s muddled crime thriller

Venice 2026: Look Back movie review – Hirokazu Koreeda explores childhood manga dreams

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Natsuki Deguchi as the grown-up Fujino in a still from Look Back (category I, Japanese), directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. Aju Makita, Furi Nanase and Rokka Okada co-star.


Furi Nanase (left) and Rokka Okada in a still from Look Back.

Aju Makita as the grown-up Kyomoto in a still from Look Back.

Venice 2026: Primetime movie review – Robert Pattinson catches predators in blunted satire

Robert Pattinson plays a fictional version of TV predator hunter Chris Hansen in a still from Primetime, directed by Lance Oppenheim. Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo co-star. Photo: Sinna Nasseri

Skyler Gisondo in a still from Primetime. Photo: A24

Tony Revolori (left) and Robert Pattinson in a still from Primetime. Photo: A24

Venice 2026: Possible Love movie review – Lee Chang-dong explores class in masterful drama

Jeon Do-yeon as Mi-ok in a still from Possible Love. Photo: Netflix.

Sul Kyung-gu (left) as Ho-seok and Jeon Do-yeon (right) as Mi-ok in a still from Possible Love. Directed by Lee Chang-dong and co-starring Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. Photo: Netflix

Cho Yeo-jeong as Ye-ji in a still from Possible Love. Photo: Netflix

Jeon Do-yeon (left) as Mi-ok and Zo In-sung as Sang-woo in a still from Possible Love. Photo: Netflix

Venice 2026: Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? is a haunting Vietnam war drama

Rodney Hicks in a still from Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?, directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. Geoffrey Rush, Mark Merphy and Tatyana Ali co-star.

Rodney Hicks (left) and Geoffrey Rush in a still from Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?

(From left) Tatyana Ali, Lathan Ava and Rodney Hicks in a still from Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?

Venice 2026: Wild Horse Nine movie review – Martin McDonagh returns with jet-black comedy

John Malkovich (left) and Sam Rockwell in a still from Wild Horse Nine, directed by Martin McDonagh. Steve Buscemi co-stars. Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Diego Araya Corvalan

(From left) Steve Buscemi, Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich in a still from Wild Horse Nine. Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Diego Araya Corvalan

Rockwell and Malkovich pictured on Easter Island in a still from Wild Horse Nine. Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Diego Araya Corvalan

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

A deep, intense friendship between two schoolgirls is explored in Hirokazu Koreeda’s adaptation of a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto


A deep, intense friendship between two schoolgirls is explored in Hirokazu Koreeda’s adaptation of a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto.


Asian cinema

Film reviews

Cinema

Fame and celebrity

Venice Film Festival

Japan

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A deep, intense friendship between two schoolgirls is explored in Hirokazu Koreeda’s adaptation of a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto

A deep, intense friendship between two schoolgirls is explored in Hirokazu Koreeda’s adaptation of a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto