My Man is the latest project from Kumakiri Kazuyoshi, based on Sakuraba Kazuki’s controversial Naoki Award-winning novel. After losing her family to the tsunami that hit the southwestern sea off Hokkaido, 10-year-old Hana is adopted by the 26-year-old Jungo who introduces himself as a distant relative. The comfort of family they find in each other has them embrace a shared sense of loss and live as father and daughter. As they become absolutely dependent upon one another, their relationship slowly falls into an abyss, and when their secret is disclosed they flee Hokkaido in the hopes of a new life in Tokyo. Set against Hokkaido’s vast natural landscape, the film depicts human desire, obsession and possessive love distorted by the void in ones heart. The misled souls that have them choose isolation at will shines through in the superb performances by Asano Tadanobu and Nikaido Fumi. Alongside the trend of emphasizing family after the tsunami that Japanese films have been showing lately, this film’s exploration of dark obsessions and neuroses of family makes its unique mark. (HONG Soin)