Japanese films about forbidden love go back decades, but the definition of “forbidden” has changed, if more so abroad than here. Hideo Jojo’s 2022 sex comedy “Love Nonetheless” would be a hard sell in Hollywood since its story of a 16-year-old girl pursuing a 30-year-old guy as a marriage partner would raise eyebrows at the pair’s inappropriate age difference.
The same is true of Sang-il Lee’s “Wandering.” Based on Yu Nagira’s novel about a 9-year-old girl who lives contently with a 19-year-old male stranger for two months until the police arrest him as her kidnapper and presumed abuser, this film may seem on its face a feature-length apologia for pedophilia. But as seen in his previous films, “Villain” (2010) and “Rage” (2016), Lee tends to focus on unconventional relationships on the social margins against a backdrop of crime. With “Wandering,” he once again makes compelling drama from dark and even dubious materials.
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