Love Thank You (2008)

Directed by: Danyael Sugawara | 39 minutes | drama, short film, romance | Actors: Kuta Kondo, Maryam Hassouni, Ryosuke Asao, Susumu Takahashi, Machiko Koseki, Jasmin Oulad Abdelaziz, Yulia Nishide, Seiichi Itoh, Sjoerd Dragtsma, Rachida Iallala, Mahjoub Benmoussa, Cees Geel, Marc van Uchelenrod, Made Westra, Codiloparck , Maurits de Lange, Rik Hansen, Marcel van As

In the short feature film ‘Love, thank you’ we are introduced to the Japanese Yuichi (Kuta Kondo), a boy in his early twenties. He is sent to Europe for his work, an assignment he is not happy with at first. In a conversation with his beautiful female colleague it becomes clear that expressing feelings is not done in Japan, although these two young Japanese seem very shy. Expressing feelings in the film is made even more difficult by language barriers. Yuichi does not speak a word of English. This is more than difficult when he decides to visit his childhood friend Naïma (Maryam Hassouni) in Amsterdam. Naïma is Moroccan, the two met in their early teens while on holiday in Casablanca, Morocco. Although both people moved on with their lives, and the fledgling friendship never continued – probably due to the language barrier – both Naïma and Yuichi have warm, but deeply buried feelings about this holiday friendship.

What follows is a deeply moving, but also funny portrait of two young people, who have a lot to say to each other, but who simply don’t succeed. The scene in the internet cafe is very nice, in which Yuichi types an entire story in Japanese, but which becomes completely incomprehensible due to the translation site. Also comical is the scene in which a Japanese-speaking owner of a sushi bar translates Yuichi’s sparse sentences (amusing role by Cees Geel). Yuichi and Naïma walk through Amsterdam together, and despite not understanding each other, they continue to communicate, each in their own language, turning their outspoken sentences into monologues. The fact that they are still on the same page is heartwarming and ensures that the viewer wants nothing more than for the film to have a romantic ending.

Heleen Suèr’s screenplay is well written and director Danyael Sugawara (“Blondje” and “Landje”) leads his lead actors Kuta Kondo and Maryam Hassouni to an outstanding performance. Both actors are not inferior to each other and get the most out of this sweet story. Love Thank You is one of nine films made as part of One Night Stand, giving young directors and screenwriters the opportunity to gain experience and show their worth. Danyael, Heleen, Kuta and Maryam, thank you!