Hamaguchi Ryusuke's 'All of a Sudden' Earns Cannes Ovation

Key Points:

• Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s first French-language film, “All of a Sudden,” premiered at Cannes to a seven-minute standing ovation, the longest at the festival so far, with many audience members visibly moved to tears.
• The three-hour drama centers on two women brought together by terminal illness, exploring themes of care and dignity through the philosophy of “humanitude” in a Parisian nursing home.
• The film stars Virginie Efira as the nursing home director and Okamoto Tao as a terminally ill Japanese theater director, with the story inspired by real-life correspondence between Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono.
• Hamaguchi co-wrote the screenplay with Léa Le Dimna and spent two years developing the project, filming in Paris and Kyoto and working closely with French actors to adapt to their approach.
• This marks Hamaguchi’s third Cannes appearance and his first film primarily set outside Japan, following the critical success of “Drive My Car,” which won multiple awards and received four Academy Award nominations.