A Story Of Yonosuke

Sweet without becoming schmaltzy, ‘A Story of Yonosuke’ tells the tale of a Japanese student, while at the same time looking ahead to explore the lives of his college friends years later. Along the way it also digs into the social issues affecting Japan in the late ’80s, and the influence that Yonosuke has on his friends’ futures. Unfortunately, the modern day scenes do seem a bit tacked on, and at over two and a half hours the film is a bit of a daunting prospect: while it never quite drags, it does feel longer than it needs to. Still, there’s a charming protagonist in Kengo Kora’s Yonosuke, and the overall mood is winningly positive.