‘Following the Sound’: A tantalizing and enigmatic study on grief

The hibernal days of early January feel like the perfect time for a film like Kyoshi Sugita’s “Following the Sound” to arrive in theaters. The director’s fourth feature chimes with this season of short days, long nights and lingering hangovers. It isn’t the kind of film that screams for your attention: It’s restrained but quietly absorbing, haunted by a sense of loss that’s never fully articulated.

That was also true of Sugita’s previous feature, “Haruhara-san’s Recorder” (2022), which clinched his reputation as a name to watch on the festival circuit. “Following the Sound” seems to pick up directly where that film left off, even returning to the same riverside cafe that served as one of its principal locations.

The films’ tonal and thematic similarities make it easier to appreciate what’s changed this time. Whereas “Haruhara-san’s Recorder” focuses on a young woman dealing with grief, the protagonist of “Following the Sound” appears to be helping guide others through the same process.