Super Happy Forever

2024 / Dir. Kohei Igarashi / Japanese / 94 minutes

Bittersweet and unassuming, Kohei Igarashi’s slow-moving drama Super Happy Forever begs our patience. Best described as a movie of two halves, the story initially presents itself as a cold, melancholic piece about a widower returning to the seaside resort where he met his late wife. Then the latter half flips back in time to show us their fateful encounter, filled with cute exchanges and magic in the air. Playing with chronology in this way allows the latter half to inform the former better, enriching the actions and the moods of the characters. It’s a poignant exploration of burgeoning love, loss, and unending grief, symbolized powerfully by the most ordinary item of worn accessory.