Filling his late father’s shoes, Mamoru has become a kintsugi craftsman, but he still harbors ill feelings. His younger brother, Miki, has no goals of his own yet and feels frustration and envies Mamoru. A story of brothers who can’t be honest and the people around them.

©2023 Kazuaki Nagaya

Director: Kazuaki NAGAYA
Cast: Kazuaki NAGAYA, Hisao KUROZUMI, Go KIKUCHI, Yuki YAMAMOTO, Miyuki FUKUDA, Shinichiro OSAWA

2023 / Japan / 92min.

 

At the end of the year, a somewhat unreliable man returns to his older brother, who leads a clock-like life. It is the family’s year-end house-cleaning. The older brother cherishes his daily routine. Early in the morning, he turns on the heater, makes the rice, and cooks breakfast. When he arrives at work, he carefully grinds the beans and makes coffee. His younger brother, by contrast, is so lazy that he sleeps under the kotatsu table. As they spend strained days together, there comes a moment when their long-held feelings about each other erupt.... Actor Kazuaki Nagaya directs his debut feature, which he also starred in, wrote and edited. Restrained cinematography and uniquely timed editing are reflections of the director’s belief in the actors as he extracts their best performances. Nagaya’s position as actor-director is advantageous. Along with Hisao Kurozumi, who plays the aloof younger brother, the two lead actors show perfect chemistry, keeping a well-calculated distance between the brothers. Mending Cracks will have its world premiere at the festival.