Primarily set in Paris, All of a Sudden is Japanese director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s first film set outside of Japan. However, even though this may feel like new territory for Hamaguchi, fans of his past movies like Drive My Car and Evil Does Not Exist may notice some recurring themes. In All of a Sudden, Hamaguchi returns to several key motifs from his previous work: durational filmmaking (using a long runtime and the passing of time within scenes as a storytelling tool), interrogations of late-stage capitalism, and the use of art (specifically theater) as a therapeutic tool for compassion and healing.
Besides these familiar themes, Hamaguchi uses its Parisian setting as an opportunity to showcase the fascinating alchemy that can happen when switching between languages and cultures, as his two main characters can each speak both French and Japanese fluently. There are also key scenes set in Japan: after all, as explained in All of a Sudden by theatre actor Gorō Kiyomiya (played by Kyōzō Nagatsuka), nothing beats your native tongue when it comes to expressing emotions.
All of a Sudden centers on Marie-Lou (played by Virginie Efira), the exhausted director of an elder care facility who is attempting to transform the facility’s culture into one that prioritizes the inherent humanity and dignity of her patients. It is a noble cause, and one not easily won, as Marie-Lou bumps up against stubborn staff members, corporate executives looking to maximize profits, and day-to-day logistical challenges. As Marie-Lou nears her breaking point, she unexpectedly crosses paths with Mari (Tao Okamoto), a thoughtful Japanese theater director. Their unexpected friendship will transform them both, as well as the lives of those around them.
Loosely inspired by real letters between a philosopher named Makiko Miyano and medical anthropologist named Maho Isono, the beautiful relationship between Marie-Lou and Mari is the heart of All of a Sudden, a relationship that is deeply profound and intimate without ever being explicitly romantic. Both actresses are subtly excellent, with Efira and Okamoto jointly winning the Best Actress award at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival for their performances. Much of the film’s runtime is made up of their conversations, as they explore philosophical ideas about caregiving, capitalism, and what it means to value each person as an individual worthy of respect.
This may sound both intellectually heady and overly sincere, especially considering the runtime is nearly three-and-a-half hours. Yet, against all odds, Hamaguchi manages to balance all of the film’s ideas and themes without tipping into saccharine didacticism… at least, for the most part. There are still certain segments in All of a Sudden that may feel more like a TED talk than a drama film, particularly a notable sequence midway through the movie where Mari literally uses a whiteboard to break down the evolution of capitalism over the course of fifteen minutes.
Skeptical viewers may also roll their eyes at Hamaguchi’s earnest humanism, but this is one of his greatest strengths as a filmmaker. In all of his films, Hamaguchi imbues his characters with so much humanity that even the side characters feel like they have a history and an inner life. All of a Sudden has profound respect for people with severe autism, elderly people with Alzheimer’s, cancer patients, and fans of experimental theater—all groups of people that larger society can easily push to the side or view as less than human. Under Hamaguchi’s eye, we are all worthy of love. Maybe that is how capitalism can be defeated… at least, that’s what Hamaguchi seems to believe.
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All of a Sudden (Japanese: 急に具合が悪くなる)—France, Japan, Germany, Belgium. Dialogue in French, Japanese. Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. Running time 3 hour 16 min. First released May 15, 2026 at the Cannes Film Festival. Starring Virginie Efira, Tao Okamoto, Kyōzō Nagatsuka, Kodai Kurosaki.
This article is part of Cinema Escapist‘s dedicated coverage of the 2026 Vancouver International Film Festival.