Athlete (2019)
1h 28m | PG-13
Ex-swimmer Kōhei, facing divorce, meets aspiring animator Yūtaka in Tokyo’s gay district. Their fiery attraction deepens amid emotional highs and lows.
Director: Takamasa Oe
Studio: キャナル
Genre: Drama, Romance
Video: 720p
Cast
Joe Nakamura
as Kaido Kōhei
Kondo Yohdi
as Imaizumi Yūtaka (Yūta)
Reina Tasaki
as Kaido Mizuna
Yoshiaki Umegaki
as Priscilla
Minamoto Rai
as Mimosa
Reviews
A stylishly filmed story about a thirty-something swimming teacher who, having been divorced by his wife, encounters a young man and together they embark on a journey of self-discovery. It's all pretty predictable stuff: inner demons are faced and it has it's fair share of love, lust, jealousy - and, of course, external family problems that all weigh heavily on the younger man as he struggles to find and accept love and on the older as he deals with his teenage daughter. The ending, though really quite unfulfilling, is actually appropriate and honest. Two decent performances from Joe Nakamura and Yohdi Kondo keep this interesting, if not exactly thought-provoking.