There’s been a recent upsurge of the interest in Japan, as both location and metaphor, in Indian cinema. The romantic leads in both Toh Ti Ani Fuji ( Marathi) and Ek Din (Hindi), wander around Japanese hills and vales, looking for themselves.The four central characters in Koji Fukada’s latest Nagi Notes (his first in Cannes Competition) are also searching, and their quest turns into a ruminative marvel, which sneaks into your heart without fanfare. Two women, co-sisters-in-law in spirit even when the man in question has vanished from their lives, reunite for a week in Nagi, the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone else, public service announcements on radio talking about mundane civic affairs (as well as the war in faraway Ukraine) become the chief source of information, and where the rhythms of nature reflect the inner turmoil of the characters.Also read | A Woman’s Life movie review: Cannes drama about a 55-year-old surgeon questions Indian cinemaYoriko (Takako Matsu) is a dairy farmer whose real passion is sculpture: one of the rooms in her house is dedicated to the wooden models she chisels with great dedication. These are not sent for exhibitions; they are for her own pleasure. Her calm demeanour suggests resilience, but when Taiwan-based Yuri (Shizuka Ishibashi), who was once married to Yoriko’s brother, comes visiting, the exchanges between them are suggestive of a deeper connection that’s lain unexpressed between them all these years. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Momo Film Co (@momofilmco)A parallel story is being played out between two teenage boys, Hatsuko (Waku Kawaguchi) and Keita (Kiyora Fujiwara ), who discover that they have feelings for each other. An unexpected vein of humour opens up in this gentle film, when the two solemnly confess their ‘love’ for each other to the two women, and vow to ‘run away’ because no one in the town, least of all their parents, would understand.A superb scene, as the boys are seen upside down through a hand-made camera obscura pinhole, becomes a bit underlined. But there’s also the kind of quiet observance that runs through Fukada’s work, which makes up for these obvious patches. An unexpected storm halts the boys in their tracks, and Hatsuko’s father who has a portrait of Yuri on his wall, made by Yoriko, pitches in an emotional apology on behalf of his son: that he (the son) felt the need to go to someone else with his problem is embarrassing; he feels he has failed as a father.Funny that this kind of confidence that a boy finds hard to make, and has clearly chosen the person he trusts the most, would be seen as a challenge to patriarchy. The resolution– both parties feel the weight of the confession and the fallout—leaves the father, who clearly has feelings for Yuri, with his ego shaken, and our foursome– Yuri and Yoriko, and Hatsuko and Keita– with a kind of fragile clarity.It is sometimes not important to know exactly what will happen tomorrow – the definitive is not what Nagi Notes seeks – but just the comfort that there will be another day is enough.Nagi Notes movie cast: Shizuka Ishibashi, Takako Matsu, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Waku KawaguchiNagi Notes movie director: Koji FukadaNagi Notes movie rating: Three starsClick here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Cannes