August

in

Blue

Written/Directed by Henry Ehara

What do we expect to find in other corners of the world? Didi--27, French--alone in a rural Japanese town, sets off to explore the mountains by bike. Then meets Chance--29, Japanese farmhand--when he’s not working, he plays the Japanese flute at a secluded shrine. The sun sets, it is dark. Didi finds shelter in an abandoned house. On a late summer afternoon, Emi—27, a bakery worker returns the wallet Didi left at the register. Didi, Chance, Emi. Could their relationship reveal something we never expected to find?

“A return to the physical.”

“To the body.”

------a retutn to the physical. to the body. to the rising and setting of the sun, small rivers running, a corner of the world not as it is meant to be but as it is and to a certain peace to be found there--------------

------a retutn to the physical. to the body. to the rising and setting of the sun, small rivers running, a corner of the world not as it is meant to be but as it is and to a certain peace to be found there--------------

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  • Nina Aboutajedyne

    as “Didi”

  • Kin Takao

    as “Suzuki”

  • Yuta Koga

    as “Chance”

  • Kaiya Aono

    as “Rick”

  • Hana Amano

    as “Mari”

Notable Reception

“Rather than fabricating conflict, the camera trusts in the presence of the body, affirming what appears before it. This is not to say that Japan is a peaceful utopia, but rather, the very force driving this film is 'peace' itself. It is not a story—it is a song. And I want to keep in mind that this film was made in a year when wars remain a constant reality.”

— Nobuhiro Suwa (Director. M/Other, Yuki & Nina)

“For me, the definitive summer films—the ones that leave a piercing ache in the heart—have always been Robert Mulligan’s The Summer of ’42 (1971) and Jacques Rozier’s Adieu Philippine (1962). I say “have been” in the past tense because Henry Ehara’s August in Blue now stands among them. And in terms of its cinematic purity, there is nothing to criticize. Furthermore, Ehara executes his carefully crafted vision without directly depicting romance.”

— Takefumi Tsutsui (Critic. Director. Editor.

To the…
“WONDER”

“AUGUST IN BLUE” (2025)
FICTION/50 MINUTES/DCP
©TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS, DEPARTMENT OF FILM AND NEW MEDIA

DIRECTOR/WRITER
HENRY EHARA

PRODUCER
TOM TANAKA HARWOOD

CO-PRODUCER
RYOHEI SUETANI

CINEMATOGRAPHER/COLORIST
PEIYUAN LI

ART DIRECTOR
AILEI AIERKEN

EDITOR
YUKI MASATO

SOUND RECORDIST/DESIGNER
JUICHI OOMORI

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
ATSUSHI HAMANA

COSTUMES
YUJIN NAGASHIMA