Who would have thought that director Michael Bay would have helmed a moving and insightful version of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights? Of course no one did which would explain why he never has albeit his revisionist script did include explosions, blatant product placement and giant robots. It’s for a similar reason that actor turned director Baltasar Kormakur new film ‘Touch’ has come from leftfield when his previous films have included highly commercial movies such as survivalist adventure ‘Everest’ and most recently giant killer lion film, ‘Beast’.
Touch is adapted from Olaf Olafson’s own novel who also co-wrote the script with the director. And it’s a return to the directors smaller intimate breakout film, ‘101 Rekyavik’ (2000). This is a melancholy film right from the start where widower and restauranteur Kristofer (Egill Olafsson) is diagnosed with early on set dementia – and there’s a further poignancy that the actors own real life situation found him diagnosed with a similar condition when filming). It is his doctor, all too familiar with how the disease consumes and destroys , that doesn’t sugar coat the news and tells him to bring closure to any unfinished business. But that is easier said than done on the eve of the Covid 19 pandemic just as the world begins shutting down and he flies to London just as restrictions are beginning to be ramped up for everyone bar disgraced Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the personification of a past its sell by date cottage cheese injected with the DNA of Pol Pot.
It’s the beginning of a series of long flashback separated by 50 years in Kristopher’s life as a student at LSE (played by the directors own son Pálmi Kormákur) who now rejects the radical ideas of his student friends and instead takes up a job as chief bottle washer at a small Japanese restaurant. But its not long before he soon moves into food preparation encouraged by strict proprietor Takaashi –San (Masahiro Motoki). Kristopher is only too happy to teach himself the basic of the language and Japanese cooking craft but there’s more to just an interest in the culture – it’s a growing attraction to the owner’s daughter Mikeo (Koki). What is initially a covert romance soon develops into something serious and as it unfolds he learns that the family escaped Hiroshima to start a new life in England. With a relationship now in full bloom Kristopher is floored when he arrives for work only to discover the restaurant closed down overnight and no trace of the family.
The extended scenes alternate as the relationship is established and Kristopher’s younger and older self trying to locate Mikeo takes a little while to settle down and takes on more of an urgency with the older Kristopher’s health declining and his movements both in the UK and internationally become ever more restricted with lockdown.
Touch is never less than engrossing as slowly Mikeo’s disappearance is unravelled and the film builds towards the most moving and melancholy of final scenes. This is a film far removed from the director’s recent Hollywood films and is tender, absorbing and always engaging.
related feature : Paola Cortellesi chats about her new film, ‘There’s Still Tomorrow’ at an audience Q&A
related feature : ‘Still : a Michael J Fox movie’ – review
We chat with director Baltasar Kormakur about the making of the film….
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Here’s the Touch trailer…..
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