Ryūsuke Hamaguchi returns to Cannes with All of a Sudden, a film over three hours long that intertwines social restructuring, the power of art, and the impact of capitalism. The story follows the bond between the director of a nursing home in Paris and a terminally ill Japanese playwright. It is his first work partially shot outside Japan, combining existential concerns with social and environmental criticism, and incorporating the Humanitude philosophy on elder care. It competes for the Palme d'Or.
Humanitude and Capitalism: The Technology of Care vs. Precarity 🏥
Hamaguchi integrates the Humanitude philosophy, a geriatric care approach that prioritizes non-verbal communication, gaze, and touch as tools against dehumanization. In the film, this methodology clashes with the capitalist logic that reduces the elderly to costs and deadlines. The director films with long, static shots that force the viewer to contemplate the real time of care, against productive acceleration. A technical critique of a system that values efficiency over dignity.
Three Hours of Footage: When Your Grandmother Tells You Her Life Without Commercial Breaks ⏳
Three hours to talk about nursing homes and capitalism. Hamaguchi has set out to make the audience feel in their own flesh what care time is like: slow, repetitive, and without the possibility of fast-forwarding. If you leave the cinema with back pain, you will have understood the message. Next time your grandmother asks you to visit her, remember that you could be watching a shorter movie. But no, Hamaguchi forces you to accompany her until the end.