Super Happy Forever follows a lonely man named Sano who returns to a seaside resort in Japan with his friend Miyata. This resort holds a lot meaning for him because five years before he fell in love with his wife Nagi there.

At first when we meet Sano, we get a man who is very unhappy, despite being in a place that should be a site of joy and exploration. To keep his mind off his sadness, he looks for a red cap, one we learn he bought when he first met Nagi. This search is more of an excuse for the story to explore the sadness and moments that have come to define Sano in his present. For those who are familiar with Atlanta (and its season 1 finale), this film has a similar plot device. It uses the character’s desire for a single item to reveal an actual need. In this case, Sano clearly needs some kind of emotional closure and we get to join that journey in a unique manner, one that has us jumping through time and perspectives.

While only being around 90 minutes, the film is structured and paced like a slow burn drama. Many shots use a static camera to capture a long scene and the simple movements and longs shots are well blocked and choreographed. Thanks to these scenes, we get a sense of how the characters move and how they carry themselves, which also provides nice contrast as the film jumps through time. Hiroki Sano, who plays Sano, does a wonderful job perfecting the mannerisms of a man who is in a saddened state by using slouching, ‘zoned out’ demeanour that’s combined with a walk that has purpose but also is quite unenthusiastic. He carries himself like life has been zapped from him. He looks worn down but still motivated enough to go search for this hat. With this demeanour, he seems to constantly be killing the vibe everywhere that he goes and Miyata starts to become embarrassed by him. In this fun tourist place, it seems that, no matter what nice activity they do, Sano is empty, only motivated to keep moving by this hat that has no monetary value. The film even has Sano run into women who are at the resort to do a seminar all about being Super Happy Forever. It creates an enjoyable ironic situation where Sano feels the opposite.

He is Super Sad Forever.

While Sano himself is a really interesting character, the film disappointed me by not exploring his character further and by swapping perspectives. Sano doesn’t really get a proper character arc and, in fact, none of the characters really do. Miyata despite being the third most important character only gets one line that really helps us get into the story. In this scene Miyata describes how a man he helped revive from a heart attack had a look in his eyes, a look that communicated he did not want to fight for his life. One can instantly see that same look in Sano’s eyes and get more insight into his character. So while Miyata serves some purpose to help us understand Sano, he himself is not the most interesting character.

This film is mostly a straight tragedy and for that reason it really requires you to get invested in the main relationships in order to enjoy this film. It is a light plot that tries to give way to deeper insights on sadness and loneliness but barely succeeds at many points. Still, I think the film is worth checking out for the character of Sano himself, someone who portrays a sadness and longing that can be relatable to all. He is embodiment of someone who just can’t get something he wants. It analyzes how much our personal relationships matter to us and how it’s not the location that makes us happy. It is the people.

Super Happy Forever is in theatres in Montreal and Halifax now, opens in Vancover on June 21st and in Charlottetown on July 4th, 2025.