Rinko Kikuchi completely commits to raw performance in ‘Yoko’

Hitchhikers are rare in Japan and even in the United States, where they once flourished. Having crisscrossed North America by thumb, sometimes for weeks and months on end, I can say that riding with random strangers is a learning experience. It is also dangerous.

Both elements are present in “Yoko,” a stark and powerful road movie by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri that won three prizes at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival, including best film, best screenplay and best actress for a bravura performance by Rinko Kikuchi.

Kosuke Muroi and So Namiko’s script papers over its improbabilities, the primary one being the need for Kikuchi’s 42-year-old titular protagonist to hitchhike instead of heading for the nearest train station. I didn’t quite buy her reasons, beginning with her apparent lack of credit or debit cards and that necessity of modern life — a working smartphone.