"Look Back" Live-Action Film Opens in Japan After 12-Minute Venice Standing Ovation

Article

From one-shot manga to Venice competition

"Look Back," a live-action film based on a manga by Fujimoto Tatsuki — creator of "Chainsaw Man" — opened in Japanese theaters on September 11, 2026. The film is directed, written, and edited by Kore-eda Hirokazu.

Days before its domestic release, the film had its world premiere in the main competition lineup of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 7, one of only a handful of Japanese productions to compete at that level this year.

A 12-minute ovation

Following the Venice screening, the film received a standing ovation reported to have lasted more than 12 minutes — a strong indicator of the reception among an international festival audience ahead of general release.

Cast and crew

Deguchi Natsuki and Makita Ayaju play the two central roles, with Nanase Fuuri and Okada Rikka playing the characters' younger selves. Kore-eda's involvement across directing, screenwriting, and editing gives the adaptation a strong single creative voice.

What To Know

It's rare for a manga this closely associated with one of the medium's most-followed current creators to be adapted by a director of Kore-eda's international standing, and rarer still for that adaptation to premiere in a major festival's main competition — the Venice reception gives fans a genuine, independent signal of quality before they even see it themselves.

A Venice competition slot and a 12-minute ovation is an unusually strong result for a Japanese live-action release, and it typically shapes how a film is marketed and discussed domestically — expect Japanese coverage of "Look Back" to lean heavily on the Venice reception as much as on the source manga itself.

What Fans Are Saying

Original Japanese

Easy Japanese

藤本タツキさんの漫画が原作の映画『ルックバック』が、9月11日に日本で公開されました。ヴェネチア国際映画祭では、12分以上の拍手がありました。