A romantic and thrilling story that spans several decades and continents, “Touch” follows one man’s emotional journey to find his first love, who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out.
“Touch” was first a bestselling book written by Ólafur Ólafsson before being transformed into the film to be released on July 12th. The author chose an interesting name for the work, which begs pondering. In the movie, it is apparent that the word comes to mean several different kinds of connections. There is the touch of a lover’s hands, beautifully expressing the sensuality of their relationship. Also, the concept of “in touch” and “out of touch” is woven in and out of the progression of the main character, Kristófer (Egill Ólafsson), who lives in Iceland.
The opening scenes are almost Bergmanesque in their starkness: the white snow as background to the brilliant red clothing of a men’s chorus backed by a steepled church seemingly flanked by nothing but cold. Even that early, the singers are not “in touch” but stand apart from each other. Kristófer goes home to a silent house where he seems “out of touch” with something: his life, future, and emotions. Alone there, he is seen framed by a doorway, sitting silently alone on his bed. After a time, he falls back on the bed in a sad gesture.
When he visits his doctor, there are hints of a medical condition, perhaps the onset of dementia, though that is only suggested by the questions put to him by the doctor, who suggests an MRI of his brain. This information seems to push him to seek a way to get “in touch” by pursuing memories of his past as a college student in London, where he dropped out due to dissatisfaction with the school’s policies. In a flashback, one of many, the young Kristófer appears to need a job. By coincidence, he goes into a small, family-run Japanese restaurant where he can finally talk his way into being a dishwasher. There, he develops a relationship with the owner’s daughter, the beautiful Miko (Kôki). He also begins a journey into the culture and language of far-off Japan. Besotten with Miko, he isn’t put off because she already has a boyfriend. In fact, Miko’s father quickly dispatches Miko’s boyfriend, who steers him away. The family has a secret steeped in misinformation and shame that has its base in the terrible atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, their former home. That secret is responsible for closing the restaurant in London and returning to Hiroshima many years later. Miko disappears, and the restaurant closes; Kristófer is never warned beforehand, and no clue is left about their future destination. The “touch” he felt with Miko is broken, and their love is lost in the accumulation of years after her disappearance.
Fast forward fifty years, and Kristófer has taken the road most traveled. He had a wife who died and a daughter who tries to look after him. He faces what he realizes is a life of loneliness overshadowed even more by the specter of losing those memories of a lost love. Moved to get “in touch” with that past, he travels to the restaurant site where he and Miko first met. Now, however, it is a tattoo parlor, and to follow Miko, he has to reach out and connect with people who can help. Thus, his journey really begins.
This journey to reconnect, if possible, with a lost love should touch our hearts, but for me, it didn’t. The actors are beautiful in their work but never rise above the material. The cinematography is skillful, but the back-and-forth of the flashbacks becomes confusing. That confusion is exacerbated by the decision to switch between spoken English and dialogue requiring closed caption translation. All in all, the film struck one chord and one only and held it for a bit over an hour. The overall emotional level was carried in that one chord. The last part of Kristófer’s journey becomes predictable. The explanation of Miko’s father’s interference was to be expected. I suppose the ending could be described as happy, but I never felt their happiness. The journey of Kristófer and Miko was never something that reached me. I wanted to be touched but wasn’t.
In Theaters Friday, July 12th
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