The Long Excuse

Eiga Sai

Japanese Film Festival

Cinema 2,  Shang Cineplex

Sachio was once a successful author but a writer's block now impedes his career. His supportive wife suddenly dies in a bus accident yet Sachio has difficulty expressing his grief. He keeps telling himself he didn't really love his wife so a tearful farewell won't really do him good. Until he meets widower Yoichi whose wife was the best friend of Sachio's wife. She also perished in the accident and leaves behind 2 small children. Sachio 'volunteers' to look after the two kids as their truck driver father is mostly away working. 

For a man who has no parental skills as they decided not to have children, Sachio does pretty good at being a father figure to the kids. He is certainly out of his very luxurious comfort zone yet slowly and surely manages to adjust to this new lifestyle. The two kids are adept at surviving on their own but welcome Sachio into their household like he is a long lost uncle.

Sachio finds himself being more compassionate as he acts as their guardian. In his aim to be more helpful, he discovers his likable side, someone who is more patient, more tolerant than his former selfish self. In so doing, he learns to deal with his grief, be more expressive and overall be a more humane human being.

The Long Excuse offers a good examination into the complexities of a well developed character whose life changes as he deals with 'parenthood', bereavement and in the process he finally finds his true meaning in life.