Hit Japanese novel returns home as acclaimed British film

TOKYO -- Andrew Haigh's 2023 film "All of Us Strangers" has been widely acclaimed by U.K. and U.S.-based audiences, winning seven awards at the British Independent Film Awards and best screenplay at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards, both in December. But its release in Japanese cinemas in April has particular significance: Haigh's screenplay is based on "Strangers," a 1987 novel by the late screenwriter and author Taichi Yamada, who died in December.

At its core, "Strangers" is a ghost story. In Yamada's novel, protagonist Hideo finds himself in disarray after the breakdown of his marriage, prompting a return to his childhood neighborhood of Asakusa, in Tokyo. There, he happens across a young couple who bear an uncanny resemblance to his parents, who died in an accident when Hideo was a boy.