by Alex Billington
April 17, 2026
Source: YouTube
“Shall we talk about the mysteries of the universe?” Film Movement has revealed an official trailer for the Japanese drama titled Renoir, an acclaimed film from last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Renoir is Japanese director Chie Hayakawa’s second film after making Plan 75 a few years ago. Set in 1987 in Tokyo. Newcomer Yui Suzuki stars as 11-year-old Fuki who lives with her parents in the suburbs. Her father is in hospital, battling a serious illness. Her mother works full-time and is struggling to keep everyday life together. Left largely to herself, Fuki drifts through the summer holidays, fascinated by telepathy, lost in her own world. When she comes across a phone hotline, she puts herself in great danger. Hayakawa says that she made the film in order to return to her own childhood, when her father was dying. His gift to her was a copy of one painting by Renoir which gives the exceptionally poetic film its title. The cast includes Lily Franky, Hikari Ishida, Yuumi Kawai, Ayumu Nakajima, Ryota Bando, Hana Hope. Reviews are mostly mixed with currently 88% on RT so far. But if you’re a fan of modern Japanese cinema, it is a must see no matter what.
Here’s the official US trailer (+ intl. posters) for Chie Hayakawa’s film Renoir, direct from YouTube:
Renoir turns its inner eye to the past, specifically to the year 1987 and one chapter in the life of 11-year-old Fuki (starring Yui Suzuki in her very first performance). Besides the usual childhood worries, the young girl’s life is affected by her father’s serious illness and her mother’s anxiety due to her husband’s absence. Thanks to her passion for the supernatural, Fuki gets into many secretive, sometimes dangerous and often confusing, situations. Renoir is written and directed by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa, making her second feature film after directing Plan 75 previously, plus a few other short films. Produced by Eiko Mizuno-Gray, Jason Gray, Keisuke Konishi, Christophe Bruncher, Fran Borgia. This initially premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Main Competition last year. Film Movement debuts Hayakawa’s Renoir film in select US theaters starting on May 29th, 2026 coming up this summer. Anyone interested?
