Hope springs from Josh Hartnett, a blonde wig and a Tokyo-to-California jaunt in Atsuko Hirayanagi’s affectionate expansion of her MIFF 2014 short.

When office worker Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima) witnesses a suicide during her daily commute, she sees her potential future, unless she can arrest her middle-aged malaise. Enter Josh Hartnett as unconventional English-language teacher John. Hugging Setsuko into fake platinum locks, the name Lucy and a new lease on life, he’s the breath of fresh air that she can’t resist – until he disappears back to America, and she decides to follow.

Adapting her award-winning short of the same name into her first feature, Japanese filmmaker Atsuko Hirayanagi turns a tale of loneliness into an ode to reinvention, with Terajima (R100, MIFF 2014; Caterpillar, MIFF 2010) offering a masterclass in versatility in the lead.

'A fresh, dark bilingual comedy … In its anarchic spirit, Oh Lucy! is a cousin to Muriel’s Wedding.' – Film-Forward