Movie Reviews

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Touch (2024)

♥️♥️♥️♥️

Touch--Official Trailer • Focus Features • YouTube

Touch • Various streaming services • R • 2 hrs. 1 min. • 1 min. read

In the midst of the COVID pandemic, an older Icelandic gentleman, Kristófer, suffering from early dementia, goes to Japan to locate a former lover who suddenly left him 50 years prior. This is a restrained, bittersweet love story told in a non-linear fashion dealing with themes of aging, reflectivity, youthful impulsivity and cross-cultural love between an Icelander and a Japanese woman (Miko) in London. She is a hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bomb (Hiroshima). My favorite scenes take place in the past when Kristopher, working in Miko's father's restaurant, courts her.

Baltasar Kormákur (Beast, Adrift, 2 Guns, Contraband) directs at a leisurely pace but maintains interest. The director admitted his recent divorce influenced the theme of reflectivity of one's past. Sigurður Eyþórsso does a remarkable job of editing with smooth cuts that maintain clarity despite the many flashbacks. No easy feat. Egill Ólafsson, recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the time of shooting, stands out as the older Kristófer in an understated performance. Pálmi Kormákur, the director's son, is good as the easy-going younger Kristófer who is smitten by the beautiful but troubled Miko (Kōki). Multiple winner of Japanese Academy Awards, Masahiro Motoki, is very good as Miko's father, Takahashi-san.

The end is sentimental with Kristófer finding Miko, then being informed they have a son, Akira, who Miko gave up for adoption. They eat at Akira's restaurant, their identities unbeknownst to him, then walk down the street holding hands. Kristófer sings a song he previously sang years ago in the Japanese restaurant in London where they both worked.

There are no car chases, superheroes or dinosaurs. It deals with my favorite topic: the human condition. I highly recommend this movie. (Iceland submitted the film as it's 2025 entry for the best international feature Academy Award.)