All Around Us deserves attention in that it is the first feature film by Ryoske Hashikuchi in 7 years. He interpreted the identity and theme of queers through a more ordinary story than any other director. His much awaited new movie shows changes in many ways. This is his 4th feature film in his 20-year career. In this movie, he shows 10 years of the life of a court painter, who makes court sketches for TV news, and his wife. Kanao starts a new career as a court painter through his friend. His relationship with his wife, who works for a publishing company, faces hardship over her pregnancy and their baby’s death, but their relationship gradually improves as time goes by. Criminal cases that surprised Japan in the 90’s and the faces of criminals get darker with time, but on the other hand, the relationship of the couple overcomes this confusion and darkness and gets brighter. The director describes the couple’s relationship within a brutal world with rich detail and mesmerizing persuasive power. In the words of the film, if ‘living is a skill, and drawing is another skill’, the skill of Hashikuchi leaves us eagerly waiting for his next movie. (KWON Young-min)