Love Life is the ninth feature film by Kōji Fukada (*1980), who also wrote the screenplay. He named his work after a song title by singer Akiko Yano published in 1991. Fukada first heard the song as a 20-year-old around the turn of the millennium. He liked the music and lyrics and listened to it over and over again. A scenario with a couple came to mind. Fukada pursued the film project for 20 years until he adapted the song into a story for the cinema.
Title: Love Life
Original title: ラブライフ
English Title: Love Life
Published: 2022
Length: 119 minutes
Staff
Director: Kōji Fukada
Script: Kōji Fukada
Music: Olivier Goinard
Camera: Hideo Yamamoto
Cast
Fumino Kimura: Taeko Osawa
Kento Nagayama: Jiro Osawa
Atom Sunada: Park Shinji, Taeko's ex-husband and Keita's father
Hirona Yamazaki: Risa Yamazaki, Jiro's ex-girlfriend
Misuzu Kanno: Akie Osawa, Jiro's mother
Tomorowo Taguchi: Makoto Osawa, Jiro's father
Tetta Shimada: Keita Shinji, Park and Taeko's son
Mito Natsume: Yoko Kondo, a collegue of Taeko and Jiro
Japan, in the present. Taeko has been married to Jirō a year ago. Both work at the social counseling service (生活相談センター). She brought a 5-year-old son, Keita, into the marriage. Jiro's father was firmly against this connection. Taeko is content with her life when a terrible blow of fate hits them and throws the family life out of balance. Keita's biological father, her long-lost ex-husband, shows up. He is deaf and dumb. She begins to take care of the homeless man. She does this out of pain and guilt towards him. At the same time, Taeko's husband Jirō is back in touch with his former girlfriend Yamazaki. Taeko accompanies the ex-husband to his homeland in Korea because of a family matter. As a result, everyone has to be clear about what kind of love they want to choose from now on and what kind of life they want to continue.
どんなに離れていても - 愛することはできる - 心の中広げる やわらかな日々 - すべて良いものだけ - 与えられるように
－LOVE LIFE－
もうなにも欲しがりませんから - そこに居てね - ほほえみ くれなくてもいい でも - 生きていてね ともに
もうなにも欲しがりませんから - そこに居てね - ほほえみ くれなくてもいい でも - 生きていてね ここに
どんなに離れていても - 愛することはできる - 永遠を思う時に - あなたの笑顔 抱きしめる - かなしみさえ よろこびに変わる
－LOVE LIFE－
Singer: Mio Matsuda
紫の袴 サラサラ ホワイトリボン 行く先や何処
Murasaki no hakama sarasara howaito ribon yukusaki ya doko
上野 飛鳥山 向島 ほんにのどかな 花の風
Ueno Asukayama Mukōjima hon'ni nodokana hana no kaze
散れ散れ 散るなら さッと 散れ チョイトね
chire chire chirunara satto chire choito ne
In the film Jiro's father sings this traditional shortly before the tragic accident.