Countlessfilms from the ’90s are cemented in cinematic history as classics. Over time, however, this forgotten drama from the renownedShopliftersauteur is considered one of the finest movies of its decade. Marking his feature debut,Hirokazu Kore-eda’sMaborosiis a masterclass in symbolism that quietly announced the arrival of one of Japan’s most important modern filmmakers. Adapted fromTeru Miyamoto’s novel,Maborosiis a somber andsoul-stirring meditation on grief, memory, and what lingers between life and death.The narrative tells the story of Yumiko (Makiko Esumi), a young widow grappling with the sudden and unexplained suicide of her husband. Often overlooked in favor of his later, family-centered dramas likeStill WalkingandLike Father, Like Son,Maborosiremains one of Kore-eda’s most formally precise and thematically distilled works. It is also, without exaggeration, a visually poetic and emotionally rigorous work of 90s cinema, holding an astonishing 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Maborosi’ Is Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Haunting Feature Debut About a Life Defined by Absence
There is a moment in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s hauntingMaborosiwhen a woman walks down a hallway, pauses, and closes a door behind her. And yet, the weight of that gesture lingers like the aftershock of a silent earthquake. It is in moments like this—unadorned, patient, and achingly human—thatMaborosireveals itself as one of the great emotional triumphs of the 90s.
At its core,Maborositells a simple story. Yumiko lives a modest but happy life with her husband, Ikuo (Tadanobu Asano), and their infant son in a small Osaka apartment. Their routines are quiet and loving—untilIkuo, without warning or explanation, walks in front of a train and is killed.There is no suicide note, no clear indication of suffering or discontent, only a gaping void that opens in the middle of Yumiko’s life. Yumiko, unable to fully process or articulate her grief, remarries several years later. She moves with her son to a coastal village, where she begins a new life with a widower named Tamio (Takashi Naito). The tragic event remains a rupture in the visual language of the film as the burden of the unknowable hangs over the protagonist. Yumiko cannot shake the feeling that something vital has been left unresolved. Her new marriage is gentle and respectful, although she remains emotionally distant,caught between the life she lost and the one she’s trying to inhabit.
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Eventually, Yumiko confesses to Tamio that she still wonders if Ikuo heard something calling him—an unseen force drawing him away from the living. That image, of a person vanishing into an illusion or mirage, is where the film draws its title—it’s a metaphor for death, but also for the unreachable parts of the people we love.Yumiko’s grief is not just about losing her husband; it’s about never understanding why he left and carrying that question through every quiet moment that follows.
‘Maborosi’ Is a Significant, Transitional Work in Japanese Cinema
Kore-eda—then a former television documentarian—brings an extraordinary sense of discipline to his first major picture.Maborosihas often been compared to the works ofYasujiro Ozu, and while those comparisons are partially justified in terms of pacing and composition, Kore-eda’s approach is distinctly his own. Instead, Kore-eda tells the story through rhythm, mood, gesture,and the lack of dialogue.Moreover, cinematographerMasao Nakabori’s eye unfolds in long static takes, often at a distance, with the characters dwarfed by the architecture or landscape surrounding them.
WhatMaborosidoes so effectively, and so uniquely, is create a narrative around emotional opacity. It puts the focus on what Yumiko cannot say, what she continues to carry long after others expect her to move on. The theme of absence is precisely the point. Kore-eda invites the audience to live with uncertainty just as Yumiko must—to accept that some human experiences remain unsolved and that grief is rarely linear.Maborosiis also significant as a transitional work in Japanese cinema. It comes at a time when many ofJapan’s major auteurs from the postwar and New Wave generations(Oshima,Imamura, andItami) were winding down their careers. Kore-eda, along with contemporaries likeNaomi KawaseandKiyoshi Kurosawa, helped usher in a new era of contemplative, character-driven cinema. While later Kore-eda films likeNobody KnowsandAfter the Stormwould explore these themes through more dynamic interpersonal dramas,Maborosiremains the origin point of his worldview as a filmmaker.
At the 1995 Venice Film Festival,Maborosiwon the Golden Osella for Best Cinematography and was widely praised for its compositional rigor.Roger Ebertincluded the film in his “Great Movies” collection, describing it as “a film of astonishing beauty and sadness.” And that is ultimately the essence ofMaborosi—a film about the quiet tragedy of ordinary life.There is only time, and with it, the slow erosion of certainty. Kore-eda observes the aftermath of human reactions. The result is a film that, though minimalist in form, is maximal in feeling.
