Having lost custody of his half-Japanese daughter after a divorce, a French taxi driver in Tokyo spends his days looking for her. When she finally enters his taxi, she does not recognize him.
A clip from the film was released on 6 September 2024.[3] The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2024.[6] It received a theatrical release in France on 13 November 2024.[3]
David Opie of IndieWire gave the film a grade of B+, writing, "This often quiet, thoughtful story of a man who's incomplete reminds us to keep fighting for the part that's missing, whether that be striving for change or even just existing to fight another day."[8]
Louis Roberts of Loud and Clear Reviews rated the film four stars out of five and wrote: "Serez's film raises questions that go beyond mere legislation, interrogating the attitudes that make up a country's social fabric. That he manages to achieve such ambitions without sacrificing the movie's intimacy speaks volumes about his craftsmanship."[9]
Aurore Engelen of Cineuropa wrote: "Buoyed by a super-efficient screenplay, composed of little nothings which result in this impossible encounter, taking a chiaro-scuro path towards a resolution that's as luminous as it is doomed from the outset, A Missing Part explores both a father’s obsession and the irreconcilable otherness of a foreigner or stranger."[10]
Paul Enicola of The Asian Cut complimented Senez's direction in portraying a "deglamorized Tokyo...allowing the city to emerge as a character in its own right. And with the urban landscape mirroring Jay's estrangement and alienation, the film [emphasizes] his growing sense of disconnect from a world that has always felt foreign to him."[11]
