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A Pale View of Hills

Play trailer Poster for A Pale View of Hills 2025 2h 3m Drama History Play Trailer Watchlist
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63% Tomatometer 24 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Desperate to understand her family's past in Japan before her birth, Niki probes her mother, Etsuko, about their time in Nagasaki. Told through flashbacks, Etsuko recounts the tale of a friend she knew long ago.... Spanning the two timelines, the film is a moving and hopeful account of the generational impact of war and tragedy on one family.

Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher The Times (UK) Mar 17
4/5
It is a fascinating, often moving exploration of Japanese family life in the traumatised, bomb-blasted aftermath of the Second World War. Go to Full Review David Jenkins Little White Lies Mar 17
2/5
The story is not particularly forthright in articulating its themes and ideas, and while that may work in the slow-burn pages of a novel, it just feels contrived and manipulative up there on the screen. Go to Full Review Tara Brady Irish Times Mar 12
3.5/5
It’s a film of visual elegance and melancholic intent, yet it often feels as elusive as the memories it seeks to dramatise. Go to Full Review Kevin Harley Radio Times 4d
3/5
The story comes to fitful life in the hands of Hirose and Nikaido, whose mirrored turns tease out themes of trauma and selfhood with absorbing subtlety. Go to Full Review Tom Shone Sunday Times (UK) Mar 17
3/5
Every time the film returns to Japan, it comes to gentle life, helped by a beautiful score by the Polish composer Pawel Mykietyn, and a performance of radiant simplicity from Hirose. Go to Full Review Jennie Kermode Eye for Film Mar 13
3.5/5
All of this fine work has potential, but too often the deeper ideas in the book are teased only to be abandoned." Go to Full Review Read all reviews
A Pale View of Hills

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Cast & Crew

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Kei Ishikawa

Director

Suzu Hirose

Niki

Fumi Nikaidô

Actor

Yô Yoshida

Actor

Camilla Aiko

Actor

Kouhei Matsushita

Actor
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A Pale View of Hills

A Pale View of Hills (2025) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Desperate to understand her family's past in Japan before her birth, Niki probes her mother, Etsuko, about their time in Nagasaki. Told through flashbacks, Etsuko recounts the tale of a friend she knew long ago.... Spanning the two timelines, the film is a moving and hopeful account of the generational impact of war and tragedy on one family.
Director
Kei Ishikawa
Producer
Miyuki Fukuma, Marta Gmosinska
Screenwriter
Kei Ishikawa
Production Co
Bunbuku
Genre
Drama, History
Original Language
Japanese
Runtime
2h 3m