Masami Nagasawa is applaudably unlikable as an adulterous author with a resistance to motherhood, who invites her husband and girlfriend to conceive a child together in a tantalizing proposition that pulls too many of its punches.
By Guy Lodge
Plus IconGuy Lodge
Film Critic
@guylodge See All
Busan International Film Festival The sophomore feature from Hirokazu Kore-eda protégé Nanako Hirose, “Between Two Lovers” tackles a variety of potential hot-button issues, from polyamorous relationships to same-sex parenting, in its contemporary Japanese setting. The film stars Masami Nagasawa as a free-spirited children’s author who invites her doting husband and secret girlfriend to enter into a three-way relationship of convenience, when both partners simultaneously express their desire to start a family. But what begins as a bold and daring attempt to broach progressive issues in a notoriously conservative society ultimately loses its nerve, acquiescing to a number of eyebrow-raising narrative compromises. Internationally recognizable talent both above and below the line should ensure that “Between Two Lovers” travels far beyond its debut in Competition at the Busan Film Festival, but more progressive audiences may be left frustrated by where Hirose leaves them.
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