Virginie Efira in Suddenly: first poetic teaser for the new Ryusuke Hamaguchi

The French actress shares the bill with Tao Okamoto in this drama filmed between Japan and France.

A refined style, two women, a bird and a rising sun: the first teaser full of delicacy and poetry Suddenly (see video at the end of the article) was posted online as the announcement of the Cannes Film Festival selection approached, this Thursday, April 9.

Three years later Evil does not existJapanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi returns with a women’s drama. It is the story of the singular encounter between two women, Marie-Lou and Mari. One is a caregiver and runs a nursing home, the other is sick and runs a theater. Several upheavals will arise from their friendship: their view of the world will transform and with it, that of an entire structure.

The film is inspired by the real correspondence between the philosopher Makiko Miyano and the medical anthropologist Maho Isono, published in the book You and I – The Illness Suddenly Gets Worse.

On the casting side, we will find Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto in the main roles. This is the first time they have filmed with the director and their first on-screen collaboration.

On the other hand, this is not the first time that the filmmaker has tackled an adaptation. Released in 2021, the very beautiful Drive my Carwas taken from the short story by Haruki Murakami, Men without women. The feature film won the Screenplay Prize at Cannes as well as the Oscar for best international film, and the Golden Globe for best foreign language film… These are just some of the awards won by the director. In 2021, he was winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale for Tales of chance and other fantasies, he also won the Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival for Evil does not existtwo years later.

But this time, it is not a fictional story that he brings to the screen.

With SuddenlyRyusuke Hamaguchi once again focuses on depicting portraits of women. In Senses (2015), he recounted the friendship between four women, in Asako I & IIhe portrays on screen the romances of a student, in Tales of chance and other fantasies the amorous adventures of two young women who shared a journey together… Then, in Drive my Carit tells the story of the friendship between a young driver and an actor.

Synopsis: “At the head of an EHPAD in the Paris suburbs, Marie-Lou is trying to introduce an innovative and very humane method of care, despite resistance. His unexpected meeting with Mari, a Japanese director suffering from cancer, changes his trajectory. Linked by a common vision and the attachment of each to the other’s language, the two women begin a deep friendship which will transform their outlook on life – and that of an entire establishment.”

Suddenly will be released on August 12, 2026 in French theaters.