Hold Me Back

A quirky little drama that tackles rather tricky themes in a very light and amusing manner. The balance may be a little off at times, which is why the drama doesn't fully register, but it is pretty impressive how Ohku manages to effortlessly switch between dark and quirky moments.

Mitsuko likes her life as a single. She keeps her distance from people and created a persona called 'A' that lives in her brain. When she meets Tada, she instantly likes the guy, but Mitsuko has lost the ability to socialize. Tada clearly likes Mitsuko too, but he's a bit younger and quite shy.

A nice film about how someone who has learned to cope with loneliness can find it difficult to connect with others, even when the opportunity presents itself. Ohku's direction is rather safe, but there are some stand-out moments, the performances are fine and even though the runtime's a bit excessive, the film never gets boring. A fine film.