HIROSE Nanako / Japan / 2026 / 128min / Competition

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Uta(Masami Nagasawa), a successful children’s book author, appears to have a near-perfect marriage with her supportive husband Morio(Tasuku Emoto). The only obvious blemish to their relationship is Morio’s dreams of having children, that aren’t shared by Uta. Unbeknownst to Morio, there’s more tension between him and Uta in the form of Uta’s secret affair with her editor Junna(Shizuka Ishibashi). Uta and Junna’s union actually pre-dates Uta’s marriage with Morio by several years. Uta is actually a lesbian. She partnered with Morio for appearance sake. Between Two Lovers doesn’t solely lean on its salacious premise. Instead, the film’s eventual evolution recalls Hirose’s astute debut feature His Lost Name(2018), which concerned a young homeless man forming a newfound father-son dynamic with an older man. Between Two Lovers also features a created family. After Morio discovers Uta’s infidelity, Uta, in a bid to save her marriage, suggests an unconventional plan to save her romance with both her partners. Morio will act as sperm donor to Junna who also wants to have children while Uta will become an adoptive parent to the potential child with the entire makeshift family living under one roof. It’s a brazen idea that develops immediate consequences. A set-up driven by convenience transitions into becoming a deeply felt polyamorous relationship as the two couples grow closer together. This twist is easy to believe. The actors turn furtive glances into instances of affectionate bliss. Cinematography enlivens the sparks flying between this trio, making their inevitable disintegration all the more difficult to bear when it finally does arrive. Between Two Lovers is a film about Uta’s personal growth. Will she value the abundant love in her life or spin out of control into loneliness? Hirose maybe takes too much time answering that question, taking a couple of comedic detours along the way. That lax plotting, however, isn’t enough to dispel the emotional truth embedded in a film unafraid to embrace its difficult subject.