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Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi poses for portrait photographs for the film ‘All of a Sudden’ during the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 18, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n
Scott A Garfitt\/AP Photo\/Scott A Garfitt<\/p>\n
Director Ry\u00fbsuke Hamaguchi poses for photographers at the photo call for the film ‘All of a Sudden’ during the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 16, 2026.<\/p>\n
John Locher\/AP Photo\/John Locher<\/p>\n
Virginie Efira, from left, director Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Tao Okamoto pose for photographers at the photo call for the film ‘All of a Sudden’ during the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n
Scott A Garfitt\/AP Photo\/Scott A Garfitt<\/p>\n
Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi poses for portrait photographs for the film ‘All of a Sudden’ during the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 18, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n
Scott A Garfitt\/AP Photo\/Scott A Garfitt<\/p>\n
CANNES, France (AP) \u2014 The Cannes Film Festival is not a place that\u2019s conducive to taking your time. Festivalgoers rush frantically between screenings. The protocol department enforces precisely timed red carpet premieres. Standing ovations are clocked.<\/p>\n
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But one of the most lauded films of this year\u2019s Cannes is a patiently plotted, sensitively told three-hour drama about giving people the time they deserve.<\/p>\n
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Ryusuke Hamaguchi\u2019s \u201cAll of a Sudden\u201d has been one of the most widely acknowledged knockouts of the festival \u2014 in part because of how much it cultivates and nurtures its own gentle rhythm. For anyone who feels life may be moving too fast, the ironically titled \u201cAll of a Sudden\u201d may be welcome recalibration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI face the same issues,\u201d Hamaguchi, the Japanese filmmaker, said in an interview. \u201cJust living and working in a society like the one we live in today, we all feel this. It\u2019s about not having the time and the availability to give our interest to others. To find that time, we have to be conscious about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamaguchi spoke over coffee on a quiet morning in Cannes. His manner is humble and reflective, but he also has a steely determination. You would have to make such sprawling humane movies that defy convention. His three-hour 2021 opus, \u201cDrive My Car,\u201d tenderly accrued such power that it became an international sensation, landing four Oscar nominations and becoming the first Japanese film ever nominated for best picture.<\/p>\n
In \u201cAll of a Sudden,\u201d which Neon will release in the U.S. later this year, Hamaguchi\u2019s story could be a metaphor for his own quietly radical cinema.<\/p>\n
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