Critics reviews

Kawase understands how doggedly we betray our emotional needs, how doing the right thing is another way of trapping ourselves and Hanezu is fittingly full of wonder, peace and muted carnage. There can be a way to remain human without turning our back on the ancient logic all around us, but we have to stop churning up the present in search of a mythic, unreliable future.

Hanezu is practically a master-class in filmmaking incompetence. Shots are ill-framed, the pacing and rhythm are sluggish, and while Kawase may be under the impression that her editing and narrative organization are "elliptical" or "abstract," her efforts are nothing of the sort.