One of the golden rules of screenwriting is that the most satisfying stories have a strong character arc. By the time the end credits roll, a movie’s protagonist may have changed for the better or worse, but there needs to be a sense of progression.
The films of Rikiya Imaizumi tend not to follow that logic. His 2018 romantic drama, “Just Only Love,” ended with its heroine still pining after the same flaky guy, having clearly failed to learn her lesson. Last year’s “Over the Town” revolved around a slacker who seemed entirely dependent on the whims of the women in his life.
The director’s latest, “By the Window” (stylized in lower case), is another study in passivity. Its protagonist, Shigemi (played by Goro Inagaki), is a talented but unproductive writer who discovers that his wife is having an affair — and is shocked to realize that he isn’t all that fussed.