Between Us Review: Shingo Matsumura’s Japanese Drama Explores Trauma and Healing Through High School Theater

In “Between Us,” Japanese writer-director Shingo Matsumura turns to an unlikely setting—a high school drama club—to unravel the lingering trauma between two middle-class families. Once close, the families became estranged after a tragic camping incident, and the film traces how a student production forces them to confront their unprocessed grief. Matsumura’s fourth feature, which premiered as part of an international film festival, is an ambitious attempt to examine how art can bridge emotional divides. The narrative centers on the teenagers who, through the process of staging a play, begin to address the pain that has silently shaped their lives. While the film’s intentions are commendable, its execution is uneven, with moments of genuine insight undermined by pacing issues. Still, Matsumura’s focus on the quiet, everyday impact of unresolved sorrow offers a thoughtful counterpoint to more melodramatic treatments of loss. The film ultimately suggests that healing may come not from grand gestures but from the shared vulnerability of creative collaboration.