Cannes 2026: Nagi Notes, Ashes

"Set over eight consecutive days, the film unfolds in the remote village of Nagi, Japan, where Yuri (Shizuka Ishibashi), an architect, has traveled to see Yoriko (Takako Matsu), a sculptor for whom she plans to pose. When Yuri arrives, Keita (Kiyora Fujiwara), a teenage boy, recognizes her from a drawing made by his friend Haruki (Waku Kawaguchi), an aspiring artist who has met Yuri previously. Yuri and Yoriko are ex-sisters-in-law: Yuri had been married to Yoriko's brother, Masato (seen only indirectly, in sculpture form), with whom she lived in Taiwan."

"This faintly Rohmer-esque setup, which pivots around these four characters and, to a lesser extent, the boys' parents, sounds simple, but nearly every scene involves an example of one person misperceiving another's intentions. Yuri and Yoriko are alternately mistaken for mere friends-as opposed to almost-family-and for a romantic couple. The boys' kinship also has unforeseen complexities. Haruki is curious about Tokyo, a city he knows little about."

"Haruki is curious about Tokyo, a city he knows little about. He also thinks that his father, Yoshihiro (Ken'ichi Matsuyama), would be a good romantic match for Yoriko, whom he seems not to realize is attracted to women (something Yoriko keeps close to the vest in Nagi). And it's possible that Yoshihiro is actually in love with Yuri-a crush he developed simply by seeing a picture that Haruki had made of her."

""Nagi Notes" turns these misunderstandings into a kind of running commentary on the subjective nature of art, and the parallels between interpreting art and intuiting people's emotions. Early in the film, shows Yuri a block of camphorwood that she is"

A film set over eight consecutive days follows Yuri, an architect, who travels to the remote village of Nagi to pose for Yoriko, a sculptor. Yuri arrives and is recognized by Keita, a teenage boy, through a drawing made by Haruki, an aspiring artist who previously met her. Yuri and Yoriko are ex-sisters-in-law from a past marriage in Taiwan, but their relationship is repeatedly misread by others as friendship or romance. Haruki’s curiosity about Tokyo and his assumptions about Yoriko’s attractions create further complications. Yoshihiro may be romantically interested in Yoriko, while Yoriko may be drawn to women, and Yoshihiro may also have feelings for Yuri based on a picture. The misunderstandings function as commentary on how interpreting art parallels reading people’s emotions.

Read at Roger Ebert