MODERN LOVE is director Takuya Fukushima’s new feature film after eight years. One of his earlier films, OUR BRIEF ETERNITY, released nationwide, was highly acclaimed at the Tokyo International Film Festival and film festivals around the world.

His TIME IS ON MY SIDE was accepted for the Pia Film Festival, and JAM received the Jury Incentive Award at the Mito Short Film Festival. After those achievements, Fukushima made his sensational major debut with PRISM in 2001. Since then, as a director, Takuya Fukushima has been described as “outrageously gifted,” “distinguished” and “a leading figure in the independent film sphere.”

Fukushima has been filming with themes such as “city and memory” and “reality and unreality” over twenty years since the nineties, which have been acclaimed at the independent film scene. In 2016, a special screening titled ESCAPE FROM THIS FUCKIN WORLD was held, and his LEGACY TIME, a short film which opened theatrically after the world premiere in Germany, in which other fifteen masterpieces showed.

Fukushima’s latest film MODERN LOVE started as a new project following the success of the special screening. The film describes the loneliness and mental conflict of a woman who lost her boyfriend, and the wavering emotions which followed. While the story is set in Tokyo where events underlining the film’s themes mainly take place, filming was also carried out in rural areas of Japan as well as overseas. This is a psycho-fantastic and heart-aching youth film that clearly demonstrates his talent as a film director.

The leading role is played by Azusa Inamura. She has gained popularity due to her performance in the radio drama NISSAN BEYOND THE AVERAGE, and has earned acclaim for acting in plays written by Kohei Tsuka. After giving a great performance in Fukushima’s last film LEACY TIME, she was chosen to play the leading role in this film. She performed a challenging triple role which goes back and forth through a parallel world. Her co-actor is Takuro Takahashi, who is a regular actor in Fukushima’s films. The supporting roles are played by Yota Kawase and Kota Kusano, who are both indispensable actors in Japanese films. Leo Imamura, the vocalist of rock band The John’s Guerrilla also performed a key role.

This is a science fiction, as well as a philosophical and a totally unexpected story. The story asks the question, “What is true love?” This film is surely entertaining, and definitely one of a kind.

'MODERN LOVE' sound track

Cinnamon / SHARKK

when this love is over, a new world begins.