Setsuko is a lonely single woman, an office worker in Tokyo, and she isn’t getting any younger. But opportunity knocks when her niece begs her to take over the private English lessons she has paid for. John (Josh Hartnett) is no ordinary teacher
Date/Time: Mar 17 2018, 6:50 pm to 8:25 pm
Vancouver, Vancity Theatre | Event calendarAge: 19+
Cost: $13.00
Find tickets: here
Learning American English in his class involves taking an American name - Setsuko becomes Lucy - and lots of hugs. It’s not long before Setsuko has a crush on him, a crush that will take her all the way to California. But reinventing yourself is never easy…
This bilingual comedy from Atsuko Hirayanagi sounds cute on paper, but it’s steelier than you might think - and packs a mean punch. A lot of the credit goes to Shinobu Terajima, superb in the lead role.
"Japanese filmmaker Atsuko Hirayanagi explores the transformative power of human connection in Oh Lucy!, a film which seems to play like a standard culture clash comedy but reveals itself to run significantly deeper. In adapting her award-winning 2014 short, Hirayanagi further expands on its themes of identity and isolation […]There’s pleasingly little sentimentality and much honesty to be found in Hirayanagi’s screenplay, particularly in its acknowledgement that new experiences can make you lose, as much as broaden, your mind. It’s also sharp in its critical appraisal of the expectations placed on women of all cultures to be paired up. While Setsuko never passes comment on her single status — unlike her vitriolic sister — her grim countenance in the film’s early stages would suggest she’s not entirely happy with her lot; although she would never admit it." Nikki Baughan, Screen Daily
"Unexpectedly touching." David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZmOhxJZL4o
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