My Sweet Grappa Remedies
Yoshiko Kawashima (Yasuko Matsuyuki) records her thoughts in pithy diary entries musing on the essentials: bicycles and seasonal alcohol consumption in quiet contentment of 40-something single life working in a small publishing office. She regularly meets up with her friend and younger colleague Wakabayashi (a delightful supporting turn by Haru Kuroki), who introduces Kawashima to her college junior Okamoto (Hiroya Shimizu). Over a year and a half, from spring to summer, as the potential for romance grows, Kawashima reflects on memories and thoughts for the future. Based on the novel by Jiro (Sissonne), Akiko Ohku’s masterful cinematic narration of her heroines’ inner monologues is on full display, opening profound observations on modern life in this story of intimacy between two women at different times in their lives.
Available streaming territory: U.S. only