Trailer: ‘On the Summer Sand’

By   |  May 29, 2025

‘On the Summer Sand’ (夏の砂の上) is a 2025 Japanese drama co-written and directed by Shinya Tamada.

Based on the theatrical play ‘Natsu no Suna no Ue’ by Masataka Matsuda, the film tells the story of a man grieving the loss of his son, who rediscovers hope after his young niece moves into his home. The cast includes Joe Odagiri, Akari Takaishi, Takako Matsu, Hikari Mitsushima, and Fumiya Takahashi.

Synopsis: It is a dry summer in Nagasaki, where not a drop of rain falls. Osamu Koura (Joe Odagiri) drifts through the hilly city like a ghost, feeling the loss of his young son. He is separated from his wife Keiko (Matsu Takako). In this small town, it is difficult for him to pretend not to notice Keiko’s relationship with his former colleague Jinno (Moriyama Naotaro). Osamu has been wandering since the shipyard where he worked collapsed, and he has no interest in finding a new job. Asako, enticed by the lucrative business opportunity, asks Osamu to take care of Yuko for a while so that she can go to meet a man in Hakata. Suddenly, Osamu and his niece Yuko start living together. Yuko starts working part-time instead of going to high school and becomes friends with Tateyama (Takahashi Fumiya), a senior who works there. One day, as Yuko is adjusting to life with Osamu, who tries his best to act as a father figure, she comes across Keiko, who is visiting the house, arguing with Osamu. [© Far East Films]

‘On the Summer Sand’ opens across Japan on July 4, 2025.

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