Two Seasons, Two Strangers (Japanese: 旅と日々, romanized: Tabi to Hibi, lit. 'Journeys and Days)' is a 2025 Japanese drama film written and directed by Sho Miyake, based on the manga short stories "A View of the Seaside" and "Mr. Ben and His Igloo" by Yoshiharu Tsuge. It follows Lee, a scriptwriter who is processing what is happening in her life.[2][3]
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Locarno Film Festival on 15 August 2025, where it won the Golden Leopard.[4]
Cast
- Shim Eun-kyung as Lee
- Yuumi Kawai as Nagisa
- Mansaku Takada as Natsuo
- Shirō Sano as professor Uonuma / Uonuma's brother
- Shinichi Tsutsumi as Ben-zō
Plot
A film scriptwriter struggles at her desk. She writes the script of a film whose scenes we witness next: the story of a young man and woman on vacation in a town by the beach who seem attracted to each other but who fail to realize their fantasies when the girl states she must leave the following day. We then witness a presentation in a class of film students consisting of the scriptwriter and other members of the production team. We notice how in real life the scriptwriter is virtually unable to communicate in a social context, in a sense offering a clue into a possible failed relationship that inspired her script. After the professor of the film class she presented at dies, a colleague recommends that a trip is an effective way to get over the type of emotional troubles she is facing.
The rest of the film takes place in the snowy mountains. Having failed to secure rooms in proper hotels, she finds herself accepting a dingy inn in which she must sleep in the same room as the old man who runs it, perhaps also owing to her inability to manage social situations effectively and stand up for herself.
The innkeeper attempts to inspire her writing during her current dry spell, recommending she make a comedy, or write about him, but his words are insufficiently inspiring to her.
When the innkeeper steals an ornamental carp from a neighbor's fish farm, the scriptwriter loses her camera, another visual and nonverbal means of coping that she had come to rely upon when it was gifted to her by the deceased filmmaker's brother. Struggling once more with this latest disappointment, she imagines a scene in a ninja movie which offers a simplistic version of the experience she just had losing her camera.
The police, who never suspect the innkeeper's crime, have nonetheless visited the inn to investigate the found camera and the discovered footprints by the fish farm. They notice the innkeeper has a fever, and they take him to the hospital.
The film ends with the scriptwriter walking through snowy fields to the train station. It is unclear whether this trip will have helped her in any way as her colleague had promised her. However, the film ends with the same sense with which it began, of the struggle to turn authentic experience into art, fraught as that is with effort and uncertainty.
Production
The film co-produced by Culture Entertainment, Sedic International, and TheFool was acquired by the Japanese distribution company Bitters End, for international sales and Japanese distribution in May 2025. It was featured in Cannes market lineup.[5]
Release
Two Seasons, Two Strangers had its World Premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival on 15 August 2025, and competed for Golden Leopard.[6][7]
The film was presented in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section at the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival on 25 September 2025.[8][9] It also competed in the Competition section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival on September 19, 2025 for 'Busan Awards'.[10]
It was also screened in International Perspective at the São Paulo International Film Festival on 20 October 2025.[11]
On 27 October it was screened at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival in the Wide Angle section.[12]
It was screened in Open Zone section of the Stockholm International Film Festival on 10 November 2025.[13] It was presented in 'Country Focus: Japan - 2025' section of the 56th International Film Festival of India in November 2025.[14] It was presented in the Panorama section of the 20th Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival on 30 November 2025.[15]
It was selected to compete in the Asian Feature Film Competition of the 36th Singapore International Film Festival and had its Singapore Premiere on 3 December 2025.[16] It also competed in the Red Sea: Competition strand at the Red Sea International Film Festival and had screening on 8 December 2025.[17][18]
The film was released on November 7, 2025 in Japanese theatres by Bitters End.[19][20] It is also slated to release in South Korea in the winter season.[21] Rights for the film were also acquired for the United States (Several Futures), France (Art House Films), China (Unknown Pleasures Pictures), Taiwan (Sky Digi Entertainment), Hong Kong (Edko Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Greece (Weird Waves), Portugal (Leopardo Filmes), and Indonesia (PT Falcon).[19]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 19 critics' reviews are positive.[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 93 out of 100, based on five critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[23]
Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave the film four out of four stars and wrote, "Miyake is not only one of the great Japanese filmmakers of his generation. He is also among the best at imbuing neglected people with humanity and injecting aching empathy into modest stories. Two Seasons, Two Strangers might be him at his best."[24]
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Film Festival of Kerala | 19 December 2025 | Golden Crow Pheasant for Best Film | Two Seasons, Two Strangers | Won | [25] |
| Locarno Film Festival | 16 August 2025 | Golden Leopard | Two Seasons, Two Strangers | Won | [26] |
| "The environment is quality of life" Prize offered by the Ticino Department of Internal Affairs | Won | ||||
| Busan International Film Festival | 26 September 2025 | Vision Awards | Nominated | [27] | |
| Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 27 November 2025 | Best Film | Nominated | [28] | |
| Best Cinematographer | Yuta Tsukinaga | Nominated | |||
| Nikkan Sports Film Awards | 28 December 2025 | Best Actress | Shim Eun-kyung | Nominated | [29] |
| Yokohama Film Festival | 1 February 2026 | Best Cinematographer | Yuta Tsukinaga | Won | [30] |
| Best Supporting Actress | Yuumi Kawai | Won | |||
| Best Newcomer | Mansaku Takada | Won | |||
| Mainichi Film Awards | 10 February 2026 | Best Film | Two Seasons, Two Strangers | Nominated | [31] |
| Best Director | Sho Miyake | Nominated | |||
| Best Lead Performance | Shim Eun-kyung | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Performance | Shinichi Tsutsumi | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Yuta Tsukinaga | Nominated | |||
| Best Art Direction | Masato Nunobe | Nominated | |||
| Best Sound Recording | Takamitsu Kawai | Nominated | |||
| Kinema Junpo Awards | 19 February 2026 | Best Film | Two Seasons, Two Strangers | Won | [32] |
| Best Actress | Shim Eun-kyung | Won | |||
References
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- ↑ Loo, Egan (April 10, 2025). "Yoshiharu Tsuge's 'Scenes from the Seaside', 'Master Ben of the Honyara Cave' Manga Get Live-Action Film". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Locarno Film Festival. July 8, 2025. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ↑ Mona Tabbara (July 8, 2025). "Locarno unveils 2025 line-up including premieres of Radu Jude's 'Dracula', Kamal Aljafari's 'With Hasan In Gaza'". ScreenDaily. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
- ↑ Naman Ramachandran (May 1, 2025). "'Drive My Car' Outfit Bitters End Adds Sho Miyake's Manga Adaptation 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' to Cannes Market Slate (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ↑ Szalai, Georg (July 8, 2025). "'Dracula' by Radu Jude, David Lynch-Exec Produced 'Happy Worker' Set for Locarno Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ↑ Del Don, Giorgia (July 9, 2025). "Locarno announces the selection of its highly anticipated competition". Cineuropa. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ↑ "Filmmakers including Jaume Claret Muxart, Harris Dickinson, Paz Encina, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Luis Ortega, György Pálfi, Hlynur Pálmason, Gabrielle Stemmer and Paula Tomás Marques to take part in Zabaltegi-Tabakalera". sansebastianfestival.com. August 21, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ↑ Ellie Calnan (August 21, 2025). "Hlynur Palmason's 'Joan Of Arc' to world premiere at San Sebastian's Zabaltegi-Tabakalera lineup". ScreenDaily. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ↑ Shackleton, Liz (August 26, 2025). "Busan Film Festival Unveils Inaugural Competition Line-Up, Including Ten World Premieres". Deadline. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". São Paulo International Film Festival. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. October 30, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Stockholm International Film Festival. October 9, 2025. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
- ↑ "Country Focus: Japan - 2025". International Film Festival of India. November 7, 2025. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Singapore International Film Festival. October 27, 2025. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Red Sea International Film Festival. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ↑ Salwa, Ola (November 6, 2025). "The fifth Red Sea International Film Festival announces its full line-up". Cineuropa. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- 1 2 Schley, Matt (September 20, 2025). "Locarno-winner 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' sold to US, Asia, Europe". ScreenDaily.
- ↑ Suzuki, Gen (July 9, 2025). "三宅唱監督『旅と日々』ロカルノ映画祭コンペ部門に選出「意味深く受け止めている」" [Director Sho Miyake's "Travels and Days" selected for the Locarno Film Festival competition section: "I find this film meaningful"]. The Hollywood Reporter (in Japanese). Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ↑ Baek Byung-yeul Th (July 10, 2025). "Shim Eun-kyung's Japanese film 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' invited to Locarno Film Festival". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". Metacritic. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- ↑ Daniels, Robert (April 24, 2026). "Two Seasons, Two Strangers". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- ↑ "IFFK 2025 | IFFK 2025: Japanese film Two Seasons, Two Strangers wins Suvarna Chakoram". The Hindu. December 19, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
- ↑ Georg Szalai (August 16, 2025). "Locarno Film Festival Top Award Goes to 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' by Sho Miyake". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
- ↑ Michael Rosser (August 26, 2025). "Busan film festival reveals first Competition lineup ahead of 2025 edition". Screen Daily. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
- ↑ Naman Ramachandran (October 14, 2025). "'Samsara,' 'It Was Just an Accident,' 'Magellan' Lead Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
- ↑ "【映画大賞】「国宝」が7部門で11ノミネート、「宝島」が6部門／ノミネート全リスト" [[Movie Awards] "National Treasure" received 11 nominations in seven categories, and "Treasure Island" received six. / Full list of nominees]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 13, 2025. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
- ↑ "2025年日本映画個人賞" [47th Yokohama Film Festival 2025 Japanese Film Individual Award]. Yokohama Film Festival (in Japanese). Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ↑ "毎日映画コンクール「国宝」が最多10部門ノミネート! 主演俳優賞候補に吉沢亮、来年1・16各賞発表". Sponichi (in Japanese). December 19, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
- ↑ "キネ旬1位は「旅と日々」「ワン・バトル・アフター・アナザー」、シム・ウンギョン＆吉沢亮が主演賞". Natalie (in Japanese). January 29, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
