The relationship between a parent and a child is something that can be truly influential, whether for good or bad. The absence of that bond, for whatever reason, can be equally damaging. For the child, they may think they have been abandoned but never actually understand the circumstances that prohibited them from having contact, while the parent is typically aware and knows exactly what they could have and don’t. A Missing Part depicts the unexpected reunion of a father with the daughter he’s never met and the profound effect it has on every part of his life.
Jay (Romain Duris) is French but has acclimated quite well to living in Japan, giving a native driver directions one night because he’s very knowledgeable about everything in the city. Because Jay’s relationship with the mother of his daughter ended, he is not permitted any contact with her, thanks in large part to Japanese law that gives heavily preferential treatment to citizens after a divorce. When he fills in for another taxi driver’s route, he is surprised to discover that the passenger in the back of his cab is in fact his daughter, Lily (Mei Cirne-Masuki).
It’s interesting to see how this film portrays the way in which Japanese culture creates such a barrier for those who are foreign when marriages dissolve. Jay sees firsthand what can come from reacting in the wrong way, as his friend Jessica (Judith Chemla) does when she shows up to give her child a birthday gift only to be barred entirely due to that blunt attempt at contact. Jay doesn’t behave like a foreigner, earning multiple compliments for his language fluency and adhering to the norms that Westerners might find strange because he understands what’s needed for him to have any distant hope of a future relationship with Lily.
There is a gentle intimacy to this film from filmmaker Guillaume Senez, which quietly explores Jay’s sense of duty, both to his job and to his role as a parent, even though that’s not something he’s actually been able to fulfill just yet. That Lily doesn’t recognize him – even he isn’t sure at first that it’s her until a friend calls out her name – adds to the drama, tempering his excitement since he doesn’t want to give himself away and instead wants to forge a natural bond with her based on the roles they’ve been assigned for that moment: she’s on crutches and he’s driving her the short distance to school.
Duris is a phenomenal actor known for a range of performances in films like The Beat That My Heart Skipped and Heartbreaker, and he brings a sensitivity to Jay that makes him very relatable. He’s more than capable of carrying this film, conveying the deep hurt that he feels from the relationship he desperately wants and has filled with a fidelity to his profession, and to the sense of honor that exists within the Japanese society he wishes to inhabit fully. Cirne-Masuki delivers an impressive turn opposite him that reflects Lily’s learned maturity, confiding in this stranger in a way that doesn’t feel irresponsible but instead honors the trust he’s able to build with her.
A Missing Part is a film that will speak to many who have broken and complicated relationships with those they love and want to get to know better. The reasons behind it aren’t as important as the type of person that someone becomes when they want to reignite something that has been lost and dream of what it could be even if that isn’t reflected in reality. This drama is an affirming and occasionally uplifting look at a fleeting chance at something that feels impossible with a magnetic lead character to anchor its poignant story.
Grade: B+
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A Missing Part makes its world premiere in the Centrepiece section at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.