Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, known for his masterful storytelling in films like "Evil Does Not Exist" and the Oscar-winning "Drive My Car," brings his latest vision to the screen with "All of a Sudden." This ambitious feature is described as an "epic two-hander," a delicate and expansive drama centering on the deep relationship between two women, ultimately serving as a poignant plea for a hopeful future. The film, which runs for 196 minutes, made a significant splash at its Cannes premiere earlier this year.

The festival circuit has already showered "All of a Sudden" with accolades. Stars Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto received a shared Best Actress win at Cannes for their compelling performances. Efira also earned the prestigious Leopard Club Award at the Locarno Film Festival. Further cementing its international appeal, the film has been officially announced as Japan’s submission for Best International Feature at the 2027 Academy Awards.

Co-written by Hamaguchi and Léa Le Dimna, "All of a Sudden" draws inspiration from the non-fiction book "You and I – The Illness Suddenly Get Worse" by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono, with Efira and Okamoto embodying their respective authors on screen. The recently released first trailer provides a captivating two-minute preview of the emotional depth and narrative richness awaiting audiences.

The film's official logline offers further insight: "Director of a care facility for the elderly, Marie-Lou strives to introduce an innovative care philosophy based on listening and respecting residents’ dignity, despite resistance from part of her staff. Her encounter with Mari, a Japanese theater director battling cancer, will profoundly reshape her path. By forming a deep, supportive friendship, the two women join forces in a shared struggle to make the impossible possible.”

Critical reception has been overwhelmingly positive. IndieWire's David Ehrlich lauded the film from Cannes, noting, "Marathon-like as ‘All of a Sudden’ might be, its message resonates so deeply because of the many elisions that it refuses to make, which leave the few handful of gaps in its timeline to feel like yawning chasms. Of course, that’s a small criticism to level against a light and lovely movie that argues for a more humane future with the same conviction that ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ articulated the glib destructiveness of our present."

Ehrlich continued, highlighting the film's unique power: "'All of a Sudden’ may not resolve with the same visceral force as that film, or offer the richness of feeling that ‘Happy Hour’ and ‘Drive My Car’ earned by their ends, but it arrives at a power all its own through how credibly it grows more hopeful as it inches towards death. It makes the impossible seem possible."

Neon will bring "All of a Sudden" to theaters on Wednesday, November 25.