‘All Of A Sudden’ review: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto form a magnetic connection in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s rich Paris drama

Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi. France/Japan/Germany/Belgium. 2026. 196mins

Sometimes, a remarkable person comes into your life and unexpectedly, irrevocably changes your perspective on the world. The same could be said of All Of A Sudden, a moving drama about the bond that develops between two women who quickly realise they have spiritual connection. Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi crafts a platonic love story filled with riveting conversation about democracy, capitalism and mortality, all in service of examining the eternal desire to find purpose in an often senseless society. Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto are wonderful as richly layered, openhearted characters who prove magnetic company.

 A restrained approach  allows the film’s emotional scenes to hit with full force

This is Hamaguchi’s third film in Cannes Competition following 2021’s Drive My Car, which went on to win an Oscar, and 2018’s Asako I & II, and glowing reviews could lead to serious awards consideration later this year. (Perennial Oscar player Neon will be handling All Of A Sudden for the US.) Set primarily in France, the picture should benefit from its marketable stars, not to mention the story’s bittersweet but life-affirming message.

In Paris, Marie-Lou (Efria) is the director of a private care facility for the elderly, determined to sell her employees on the principles of Humanitude, a relatively new care method which emphasises treating residents with dignity, despite the severe cognitive disorders affecting them. But she faces pushback from both the administration, because of the higher costs associated with this method, and her diligent but overworked staff, who consider Humanitude’s principles too taxing to maintain over the long term.

Frustrated and burned out, Marie-Lou then runs into Mari (Okamoto), a Japanese experimental theatre director who invites Marie-Lou to see her play. To Marie-Lou’s astonishment, the provocative work speaks directly to Marie-Lou’s wish to make the impossible possible, inspiring her to talk to Mari after the show, their evening extending until the early morning as they get to know one another.

As he did with Drive My Car, Hamaguchi utilises a longer running time (over three hours) to lay out an intimate story that gives viewers the necessary space to understand his complicated characters. After establishing Marie-Lou’s professional challenges — she cares passionately about the residents, but she can be condescending to staff members who express reservations about Humanitude — All Of A Sudden introduces Mari, who immediately feels a kinship with Marie-Lou, the two women eagerly sharing their philosophies regarding making life more tolerable, whether it’s through medical care or art. For Mari, such concerns aren’t simply academic as she has terminal cancer, meaning that there will only be a finite period for these new friends to be together.

Not unlike in the films of Eric Rohmer or Richard Linklater, Hamaguchi makes the act of conversation beguiling. Based loosely on correspondences between a philosopher and an anthropologist, the film may remind viewers of the final third of Hamaguchi’s 2021 triptych anthology Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy, which similarly studied two women from different worlds forming a surprising bond. All Of A Sudden’s stunning extended middle segment focuses on Marie-Lou and Mari’s all-night hangout as they walk around Paris and, later, Marie-Lou’s facility, just talking. Hamaguchi and Lea Le Dimna’s screenplay is suffused with crackling dialogue, the bilingual characters easily moving back and forth between French and Japanese as they discuss politics, economics and their vocations. But their growing rapport also has room for respectful disagreement, which only draws them closer as they get further engaged in their exchange of ideas.

Hamaguchi’s quiet camera moves and Samuel Andreyev’s beautiful, sparely-implemented score underline this deceptively gentle drama without ever distracting from the characters’ flourishing friendship. And the lead actors respond marvellously to their fleshed-out roles. Efria plays Marie-Lou as a tireless champion for her residents while at the same time revealing her arrogance, which threatens her efforts to institute laudable reforms. Mari may be dying, but Okamoto imbues her with life, letting the woman’s love for the world intertwine with a melancholy acknowledgement that her time is running short.

But despite Mari’s looming end, All Of A Sudden never stoops to treacly melodrama, instead preferring a restrained approach that allows the film’s most emotional scenes to hit with full force. Just as Marie-Lou and Mari have devoted their adulthood to improving the lives of others, Hamaguchi’s graceful paean to kindness and curiosity feels like a balm.