This is the latest film from director Wayne Wang, who has built a career in Hollywood while remaining true to his Asian identity. Seventy-year-old Utsugi, left paralyzed on his left side by a stroke, is cared for by his sister-in-law Hana and his Chinese daughter-in-law Susu. When the rest of the family sets off together on a summer vacation, Utsugi insists on staying behind, alone in the house with Susu. Feeling diminished, Utsugi gradually comes to believe that Susu is flirting with him and begins to feel a subtle, sensuous desire for her body. Based on Tanizaki Junichiro’s novel of the same name, Diary of a Mad Old Man seeks to translate the original novel’s aesthetic fetishism into cinematic form. The film does not look away from the fact that the driving force of life resides in moments that are ugly and vulgar. In particular, Lily Franky’s embodiment of the old man’s palpable, undisguised desire and Fan Bingbing’s subtly enigmatic performance in responding to that desire reveal that taboo is, in fact, the true face of desire.
Born in Hong Kong in 1949. He moved to the United States to study at the University of California. His directorial debut, Chan is Missing (1982), produced on a low budget in San Francisco's Chinatown, won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award and brought his attention. His major works include Joy Luck Club (1993), Smoke (1995) and A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007).
From Tokyo International Film Festival 2026, No. 39
