A One Mann’s Movies review of “A Pale View of Hills” (From the 2025 London Film Festival). (2025, 2.5*, ’15’).
Original title: Tôi yama-nami no hikari
The name that drew me to “A Pale View of Hills” was Kazuo Ishiguro, on whose book this is based. Ishiguro has written such filmed classics as 1993’s “The Remains of the Day” and 2010’s “Never Let Me Go” and his wonderful book “Klara and the Sun” is slated for a 2026 release (under the direction of Taika Waititi, which I must admit is worrying me!) Ishiguro also an Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination for his work on “Living“.
Sadly, although he wasn’t the scriptwriter for this one, I fear this is not going to win any awards for the writing which is, I thought, decidedly ropey.
Interestingly (from his wiki), Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki in 1954 before moving, as the character in this film does, to Britain with his family in 1960.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
A British journalist, Niki (Camilla Aiko), writes a story on the past life of her mother (Suzu Hirose/Camilla Aiko) who lived through the Nagasaki bombing and raised Niki there. Dual timelines explore her memories of events.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (The film has not yet been rated by the BBFC but I believe it might get a 12A. There are some distressing scenes included, but nothing that I think would merit a 15.)
Talent:
Starring: Suzu Hirose, Fumi Nikaidô, Yoh Yoshida, Camilla Aiko, Kôhei Matsushita, Tomokazu Miura, Romain Danna.
Directed by: Kei Ishikawa.
Written by: Kei Ishikawa. (Based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro).
Running Time: 2h 3m.
Summary:
Positives:
- Some beautiful imagery, perfectly captured with stunning colours.
- Great production design.
Negatives:
- The script leaves the viewer disorientated and confused with its twists.
- Some of the dialogue is decidedly clunky, feeling like a bad translation.
- A film cat-lovers might wish to avoid.
Full Review of “A Pale View of Hills”:
Gorgeous to look at.
What’s stunning about the film is the cinematography by Piotr Niemyjski, with pin-sharp and vivid presentations of life in Nagasaki in 1952. The colours are heightened somehow as if we are watching a Technicolor film from the era. Compare and contrast to the UK scenes, set in 1982, where the colour palette is much more muted.
The production design is also good, from the 1980’s corner shop in the UK to the GI-strewn streets of 1952 downtown Nagasaki.
Confusing story.
Judging from some of the comments of others who came out of the film, the story confused a number of viewers. I think I understood what it did, but I have to agree that the twists were not as clearly presented as some similar films of this genre. (I can’t go into details without dropping spoilers!) (As this is a pre-release film, I won’t even add a spoiler section for the moment (but might do when I republish it during its UK release.)
Clunky dialogue.
I have noticed when reading some of Ishiguro’s books, and indeed those from other Japanese author’s like Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s excellent “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”, that the dialogue can feel a bit stilted which I think is due to the translation of the original text. That feels justifiable as you are trying to get the sense of the author’s own words. But it doesn’t excuse the dialogue in a film intended for a Western audience, where someone with English as their native language should have adapted the screenplay so that the speech does at least sound natural.
In many sections of this movie, I found the exchanges (e.g. between Niki and her mother) quite laboured and false. A phone conversation between Niki and her professorial lover also made me cringe.
Dogs, Meerkats and now….
The end titles include the words (in Japanese and English) “no animals were harmed during the making of this film”. But this LFF so far has not been kind on our animal friends. Dog lovers would not have enjoyed some parts of “Sirât“; Meerkat lovers (a smaller subset, I grant you) will have needed to cover their eyes during one part of “Left-Handed Girl” and now it is the turn of cat-lovers to get offended. I will say no more, but its a scene that *might* merit that 15 certificate that I was previously pondering.
Summary Thoughts:
I found this one to be a mixed bag. Visually stunning to look at, the confusing story and clunky script rather let it down for me.
Tickets for the London Film Festival showings on 16th and 18th October are currently sold out, but here is the booking web site to check for returns or other showings.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
A teaser trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CspDNSAOrpw.
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