‘Renoir’ Review: Chie Hayakawa’s Gentle Coming of Age Story Gives Way to a Powerful Debut Performance from Yui Suzuki [C+] Cannes

Director Chie Hayakawa’s sophomore feature, after 2022’s Plan 75, sees her pivot from telling a futuristic story about euthanasia to a past-set coming-of-age tale. Renoir is a gentle, yet sombre tale told from the perspective of a young Japanese girl whose father is suffering from a terminal form of cancer.

The Japanese Cannes competition title begins as 11-year-old Fuki (ace newcomer Yui Suzuki) is killed by a mysterious man who strangles her to death. It cuts to her funeral, where her classmates gather to mourn her death. Voiceover briefly analyses what death and the tears shed by those at funerals mean, but it’s cut short by the abrupt reveal that it was an oddly morbid class presentation that Fuki was doing. This is where Fuki’s mother (Hikari Ishida) is introduced as she is called into school after the teachers read her essay on what it would be like to be an orphan; her mother quips, “Don’t kill me” as they walk out of the classroom. A few chuckles rang out at the Cannes world premiere, but that would be the extent of the comic relief in this title. This is how Fuki’s young mind works, she finds herself constantly pondering things 11-year-olds should have no concept about.

Fuki’s family has reached their limit with her mother constantly stressing about work and her father waiting for his impending death. No one pays attention to the young girl, which leaves room for her to pick up on some strange hobbies and habits. She calls strangers on a phone dating hotline she found, practices hypnotism and dreams about death. Renoir is not the usual coming-of-age story that audiences are used to; Fuki’s development isn’t anything significant as the film charts just one summer in her life. She doesn’t age out of her childish nature or overcome her need for parenting but her experiences before and after her father’s death could have an effect on her later in life, upon reflection.

Renoir is a wandering film that is so focused on capturing the emotion on show that it forgets to have a gripping central narrative. It feels rather insignificant beyond following our young protagonist as the film’s episodic nature, with scenes barely connecting to each other and feeling more like brief accounts of certain moments, fractures any sense of narrative cohesion. However, the way it deals with death and the way her family handles it is fascinating at times. Her mother toys with a younger and healthier man while her father sits on his deathbed for days on end. At one point, a cupboard with funeral attire is shown, which is quite the revealing moment as it’s clear Fuki’s mother has accepted her husband’s impending death a long time ago. The film presents death and loss as inevitable steps that everyone goes through in life, which is certainly a chilling thought. In Japan, death is considered as a natural part of life, but diseases like cancer are thought to be a polluting force. Also, in Asian culture, patients are often knowingly kept in the dark about diseases like cancer, so families often prepare for life without the person as seen in Renoir, although the father knows about his diagnosis here but the mother still prepares for life after him.

Yui Suzuki leads the film effortlessly, she delivers a quietly powerful performance that the audience cares about deeply. Fuki is Renoir’s protagonist and emotional core. Hikari Ishida’s role is pivotal to the film, but it’s made extremely difficult to connect with her character. Fuki’s mother is always too busy and preoccupied to properly care for her daughter, but Ishida’s performance as an overwhelmed mother is a definite, subtle standout. Lily Franky, who plays Fuki’s father, does a quietly excellent job every time he’s seen. His character is where most of the doom and gloom originates from, but it’s refreshing to see him still committed to his work, the last thing he has left to grapple onto, apart from his daughter, despite the dire circumstances.

Hayakawa’s themes are bleak, but cinematographer Hideho Urata’s attractive visuals echo the innocence of Fuki. The film is told through Fuki’s childish perspective, where there is still hope and optimism. Urata’s lighting uses soft sources, natural light and colours, which contradicts the film’s dark themes by creating a visual palette that is less doom and gloom. The film’s most beautiful shot has Fuki riding her bike in front of a beautiful sunset. It’s a peaceful moment as she takes in Japan’s luscious landscapes while listening to her music, as if to signify she’s all alone in her journey and she’s seemingly okay with it.Most of the shots are observational and unintrusive, allowing the actors to have space to breathe life into the dialogue and for the quiet moments to be silently powerful.

Renoir leaves the audience searching for the film’s central story and the true meaning beyond just examining death. It feels like something is missing. However, Hayakawa’s film is emotionally poignant and handles Fuki’s viewpoint with great care. It is undoubtedly the film’s greatest asset, making it shine amongst other now-archetypal coming-of-age stories for being a little bit different. Renoir is worth a watch, even just for this.

Grade: C+

This review is from the 2025 Cannes Film Festival where Renoir premiered In Competition.

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Ben Rolph

Ben is a film and television journalist, who is based out of London, United Kingdom. As the Senior film critic at DiscussingFilm, Ben regularly writes reviews, features, interviews and attends film festivals. Also, Ben runs the DiscussingFilm Critic Awards that have been running since 2019 and is a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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