TOUCH

Iceland/UK, 2024, 120 minutes, Colour.

Egill Olafsson, Koki, Palmi Kormakur, Masahiro Motoki, Yoko Narahashi, Ruth Sheen.

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur

This is a very moving drama from Iceland. The central character is ageing, health deteriorating, a doctor advising him to come to terms with any problem that has been gripping him over the years. He is Kristofer, widower with a daughter, but long memories.

As might be expected, there are two time eras in this film, the present with the ageing Kristofer, and many flashbacks which build up a strong and vivid picture of himself when young, his early life, and encounters which changed his life but which came to an abrupt and mysterious and.

In fact, the principal flashbacks are to London in the 1970s, Kristofer student of economics there, joining in protests of the time, but giving up on the studies and taking up a job in a Japanese restaurant in central London. He feels at home there. He learns some of the language. He learnd some of the ways of cooking. The owner, a refugee in the 1950s from Japan to London, a native of Hiroshima and the atomic bomb, the aftermath, with his young daughter, highly competent, initially wary of Kristofer.

But, we see the buildup of the relationship, Kristofer finding a zest in life, and in love with the daughter, Miko (played by Koki). And one day he goes to the restaurant and finds it closed, the family gone.

Again in the present, Kristofer goes back to London, finds the site of the restaurant, tracks down one of the workers there at the time, gets some information and, despite protests from his daughter, decides to go to Japan to discover the truth, to bring some calm to the anguish that he has experienced for half a century.

And audiences will find the sequences in Japan, a visit to Hiroshima (and quite a telling impact in being reminded of what happened with the bomb and its effect on

 those who lived in the city), and his search for Miko and whether he will find her or not, engaging..

Director,Baltasar Kormakur was a pioneer in the 2000a of strong Icelandic drama. By 2010, he was making action films, especially in the United States with an American cast. Now his return to serious drama – and audiences will be thankful for this.

1. The tone of the title? Communication? Tenderness? The long absence of touch?
2. The work of the director, stories from Iceland, his dramas, the period of his action dramas, this film as a culmination of his work?
3. The contemporary Icelanders settings, the terrain, the seasons, homes, towns, airport, leaving Iceland? The London settings, the 2020s, the site of the restaurant, the changes, the meetings? The London settings of the 1970s, students, protests, accommodation, jobs, the restaurant, the Japanese atmosphere, the streets and atmosphere London at the time?
4. The Japanese locations, Tokyo, Hiroshima, the countryside? Modern, the buildings, parks, streets, high-rise? The flashbacks to Hiroshima in the past?
5. Kristofer and his story, his age, the doctor, the diagnoses, physical condition, deteriorating mental condition, the advice to resolve any worries or concerns? His daughter and the phone calls, her concern? His disregard of them? The audience gradually building up the picture of the 50 years of the past, returning to Iceland, his work, marriage, the daughter?
6. His decision to go to London, the airport, arrival, London changed, accommodation, seeking out the restaurant, its change, the proprietor? Tracking down the worker from the past, aged care, her giving him the information?
7. The portrait of Kristofer in London, age, weary, anxious, searching? The decision to go to Japan?
8. The insertion of the various flashbacks, Kristofer young, the background in Iceland, work, fishing, student in England, economics, fellow students, their bonding, camaraderie, the protests, the putting down of the protests? His ideology, giving up the studies, looking for a job?
9. The Japanese restaurant, the proprietor, his asking for the job, his glimpse of Miko, his reaction, her reaction – the later revelation that she advised her father not to employ him? His discussion with his friends, their disbelief? His return, the owner hiring him, the conversations, the other workers, the woman and her background, the Opera singer, the atmosphere, the customers?
10. Kristofer, taking to cooking, learning Japanese, the communication, Mico and the discussions with her, the bonding? Falling in love, the meetings, secrecy, in the flat, Mrs Ellis and her reactions and advice?
11. The family background, quiet, Hiroshima, the decision to leave, no communication with Kristofer, the disappearance? The impact on him? 50 years?
12. In Japan, getting the address for Miko, meeting the lady from the apartment, her arranging the contact, Miko and Kristofer reuniting, the years that had passed, Miko and her age, health, her life, her regrets of losing Kristofer?
13. The bonding, the past years, sadness, joy in finding each other?