Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car won an Oscar for Best International Foreign Film (my review). His new movie still utilizes a flat, objective camera, mundane pace and lots of observational moments. It’s set in a small village outside Tokyo, where a man and his daughter live a modest life and appreciate nature (the opening shot spends 4 minutes looking up at trees). Conflict arises when a company decides to build a glamping site nearby. Every day activities and strolls thru the forest make up much of the activity until the business people show up. The only scene with any discord is a town meeting that reflects the culture’s polite temperament. Thru it all is a slow film with quiet observations…until the completely unexpected, unexplained final scene. (Japanese with subtitles) (2.5 / 5)