Cliches float like corpses through the watery drama of Michihito Fujii’s “A Light in the Harbor.” This hackneyed tale of friendship and self-sacrifice really wishes it was a Ken Takakura movie. Veteran cinematographer Daisaku Kimura certainly shoots it like one, his grainy 35 mm visuals giving the film a nostalgic patina that sets it apart from Fujii’s usual digital fare — but the whole thing still feels awfully familiar.
Hiroshi Tachi brings old-school gravitas and immaculate grooming to the role of Ryoichi Miura, a former yakuza now earning his keep as a fisherman in a harbor town on the Sea of Japan. Viewers wondering when second-billed Gordon Maeda will show up are in for a long wait, as the film’s first hour details how Ryouichi befriends Kota (Maholo Onoe), a purehearted boy who lost his sight and parents in a car crash.
It’s a setup ripe for corniness, and Fujii’s screenplay doesn’t disappoint. In one of the most eye-rolling scenes, Kota asks if the rumors about Ryoichi’s yakuza past are true and the latter spins an outrageous fib about how he was actually a detective. If you think that’s bad, just wait until you hear the excuse he comes up with after spending over a decade in the slammer.
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