Trending Now - Transformative Friendship Shines in Hamaguchi's Latest Drama

WHO:

Variety - The film features Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto as the main characters.

Variety - Ryusuke Hamaguchi is the director of the film "All of a Sudden."

WHAT:

The Hollywood Reporter - The film "All of a Sudden" has a running time of 3 hours and 16 minutes.

The Hollywood Reporter - The film is inspired by the book "When Life Suddenly Takes a Turn," authored by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono.

The Hollywood Reporter - The film features a character named Marie-Lou Fontaine, who is the director of "The Garden of Freedom," a care-home franchise branch on the outskirts of Paris.

The Hollywood Reporter - The character Mari, played by Tao Okamoto, has terminal cancer and her condition could drastically worsen at any time.

The Hollywood Reporter - The film includes a scene where Marie-Lou and Mari sit on a mountainside in Kyoto while eating pot noodles.

Variety - "All of a Sudden" is described as a life-giving drama that explores the philosophy of caregiving.

Variety - The film consists of two women talking for the best part of three-and-a-quarter hours.

WHERE:

Little White Lies - The film is a Japanese production.

WHEN:

Variety - The film is noted as a new feature from Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

WHY:

Little White Lies - The film expounds on the philosophy of caregiving with creativity, lyricism, and love.

HOW:

The Hollywood Reporter - The film employs a docu-style methodology, featuring diagrams, graphs, and bullet points on a whiteboard during conversations.

Variety - The film is characterized as a rare type of cinema that reminds viewers of the essence of life.

(UPDATED May 16, 2026 04:11 UTC)

The film "All of a Sudden" has a running time of 3 hours and 16 minutes and is inspired by the book "When Life Suddenly Takes a Turn," authored by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono. It features a character named Marie-Lou Fontaine, who directs a care-home franchise on the outskirts of Paris, and her friend Mari, played by Tao Okamoto, who is battling terminal cancer. The film employs a docu-style methodology, incorporating diagrams, graphs, and bullet points on a whiteboard during conversations, and includes a poignant scene where Marie-Lou and Mari share pot noodles on a mountainside in Kyoto.

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(UPDATED May 15, 2026 19:26 UTC)

The new film "All of a Sudden," directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, features Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto as the main characters. This Japanese production is a life-giving drama that explores the philosophy of caregiving through a conversation between two women that lasts for over three hours. With its creativity, lyricism, and love, the film is described as a rare type of cinema that reminds viewers of the essence of life.