Touch (2024) film review: An Icelandic portrait of love, loss and memory

Touch is a romance drama directed by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur and released in theatres on July 12, 2024. It follows the story of Kristofer, an old restaurant owner diagnosed with dementia in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the public transportation systems close, Kristofer heads off to London to find Miko, the woman he fell in love with.

Kormákur has made a return to a romantic film after a very long time but has not lost his craft in the genre. He perfectly captures the quiet urgency of needing to find someone you love, especially as your life nears its close.

Egill Olafsson and Pálmi Kormákur Baltasarsson bring much nuance and depth to the roles of the older and younger Kristofer. Model Kōki Kimura also delivers a splendid performance as Miko.

The official summary for Touch (2024) reads:

"A romantic and thrilling story that spans several decades and continents; Touch follows one man's emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out."

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the film Touch (2024). Viewer discretion is advised.

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What is Touch about? Plot explored

Touch follows the story of Kristofer and his journey from Iceland to London and then Hiroshima, as he looks for Miko, the girl he fell in love with when he was a youngster in London. It's based on the book of the same name, written by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson in 2020.

The story starts when Kristofer is diagnosed with dementia. His doctor advises him to get closure wherever he can and wrap up any unfinished issues he might have before starting to lose his memory.

A widower, Kristofer looks through his old photo albums and memories. He decides to close his restaurant, wrap up his home life and fly to London, narrowly avoiding the COVID-19 restrictions in place.

When he reaches London, the film transitions into a flashback. We see a young Kristofer leaving the London School of Economics and opting to wash dishes at a Japanese restaurant called Nippon. Here, Touch highlights that the events of the flashback took place in the late 1960s, with clues about post-war suspicion against the Japanese in Europe.

Takahashi-San, the owner of Nippon, encourages Kristofer to help around in the kitchen and learn cooking as well. It's during this time that he's introduced to Takahashi-San's daughter Miko, who is also a waitress at the eatery. Miko is shown to be a modern and outgoing girl despite her father's traditionalism and conservative views.

Pálmi Kormákur and Kōki as Kristofer and Miko in Touch (via Focus Features)

Slowly, Miko and Kristofer start having feelings for one another and start a relationship, hidden from Miko's father. However, the story takes an abrupt turn when Kristofer shows up for work one day to find Nippon closed and both father-daughter gone.

From here, the film intercuts between flashbacks and the grown-up Kristofer trying to look for Miko. He comes to know that the family moved back to their native home in Hiroshima and decides to follow their tracks. Kristofer's daughter tries to dissuade her father, and the pandemic restrictions start becoming tighter, but he doesn't stop trying.

On reaching Japan, too, his search is not immediately rewarded. Kristofer tries asking multiple people for Miko's whereabouts, even forming a friendship with another widower at a bar in Tokyo. Finally, he finds Miko and gets his closure, in an ending that indicates how bittersweet love can be.

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Is Touch a film worth watching? Reviewed

Egill Ólafsson in a still from the film Touch (via Focus Features)

After Baltasar Kormákur's work in the action genre, this return to a soft romantic drama is certainly refreshing. The film manages to skim narrowly past cliches, instead turning the story into a heart-rending portrayal of what forgotten yet unforgotten love can be like.

The film's main cast deserves much appreciation for understanding their respective characters. Pálmi Kormákur Baltasarsson essays the role of a young man in love perfectly.

The younger Kristofer's idealism and principles are balanced with his genuine love for cooking in Takahashi-San's kitchen. Kōki Kimura provides a contrast to the bubbly and outgoing Miko, who often even rebels against her father's traditional views. Her stylish outfits and easy chemistry with Kristofer stand out in their hidden romance.

Kōki Kimura as Miko in a still from the film (via Focus Features)

Meanwhile, Egill Olafsson brings a sombre sense of finality to the story. His presence is solid and determined but mingled with the desperation of finding someone he has lost before it's too late.

His conversations with his daughter and flashbacks of his late wife are a reminder of the family he built, but Kristofer pursues the part of his life that has remained unresolved for years.

The film's production design deserves special mention, as the locations and flashbacks have been differentiated with great care. The soft muted pastels on screen for Miko and Kristofer's relationship morph into colder and more earthy colours that symbolise their separation in the present day.

The cinematography takes its time but doesn't make the pace of the film seem unnatural.

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Audiences can watch Touch in theatres from July 12, 2024 onwards.