Films in the PFF Award 2023 - 1/2
***Grand Prize***
Retake by NAKANO Kota (110 min.)『リテイク』
A female student decides on a whim to make a movie over her high school’s summer break, enlisting the help of four old and new friends. The relationship dynamics change as the group get closer to finishing the movie.
High schooler Kei takes photos as a hobby. He treasures some covertly snapped images of a girl in his school named Yu (his crush unbeknownst to her). One day, Yu catches Kei sneaking a picture of her from a local bridge. She suddenly declares she wants to direct a movie and asks him to be her cameraman and to find her a lead actor. Kei calls up his old buddy Jiro, who has drawing skills, and he’s immediately cast as a painter. Yu’s classmate Umi will assist the production and act alongside Jiro as a couple who journey to a land where time has stopped. The team realizes their sound is lacking and secretly borrow a proper mic from the broadcast club. Kei impulsively hires Yu’s ex-bandmate Arisa to record. As the quintet shoot each scene, their personal feelings and histories are revealed, particularly during the “retakes”...
■The first half of the film plays out in linear fashion until, following its namesake, director NAKANO Kota brilliantly doubles and triples the story back on itself to add richness and texture to the main plot. The final sequence takes the concept even further, illustrating that filmmaking itself is living in the moment.
**Runner-Up Prize**
Touch by TAKADA Kyosuke (56 min.) 『ふれる』
An elementary schoolgirl comes to terms with the loss of her mother and changes in her family over the final summer in her hometown before moving away.
10-year-old Misaki is a precocious, sensitive girl who still feels the presence of her late mother at home. Misaki sets a place for her mom at the table and won’t let anybody sit in her chair. Her father now has a new girlfriend and wants the family to move on as best they can, but accepts that Misaki takes life at a different pace than her older sister. Misaki’s hobby is pottery and she receives lessons with a local potter, feeling solace when shaping the clay in her hands. After accidentally breaking a classmate’s artwork at school, Misaki runs away from home. That evening she inadvertently joins a traditional obon festival procession and has an unexpected encounter, before waking up in hospital with a bandaged head. The family prepare to leave the ghosts of the old house behind and move to a neighboring city, but Misaki will carry some things with her for the rest of her life...
■Director TAKADA Kyosuke crafts an impressively mature, sure-handed drama which beautifully captures the presence of someone who has left the physical world. Young actress SUZUKI Yui, who plays Misaki, is a true discovery.
*Special Jury Prize*
The Bon Festival(working title) by TERANISHI Ryo ( 28 min.) 『うらぼんえ』
An art class teacher is influenced by a student to create a painting dedicated to his late son, who drowned as a child. When he later helps a middle-aged man who collapses at the beach, it leads to a surprisingly poignant realization.
Shinji has recurring dreams of reaching out to save his son Keita, who drowned as a youth. So vivid, in fact, that he wakes up with an injured arm from the tight grip of a hand. In the art class Shinji teaches, one of his students paints a mukasari ema (portrait of a post-mortem marriage), which inspires Shinji to do the same for his son. When his students accompany him to the the seashore location depicted in his previous painting, Shinji helps revive a drunken, middle-aged man. He accompanies the man back to his house, where his family carry out preparations for the coming obon period. Shinji is surprised to notice that their son is a dead ringer for Keita. He calls his mother to tell her, but she has an even more surprising revelation...
■Filmmaker TERANISHI Ryo collaborated with his cast from the writing phase, which gives this short a thoughtful, carefully developed feel. The unexpected reversal of fate is handled with a sure hand, with a poetic visual payoff that embodies the true spirit of obon.
*Special Jury Prize*
Cage by TACHIBANA Ryo (66 min.) 『鳥籠』
The bonds between a tight group of four, aimless suburban teens begin to fracture when an older neighborhood boy introduces them to drugs.
Kodai, Jin, Kengo, and Kazuki have grown up together on the streets of their suburban neighborhood. They spend their days hanging out in the local park, shooting hoops, smoking, and listening to hip hop. They all put up with issues at home and don’t have much hope for the future beyond getting jobs after high school, except for Kodai, who has a vague desire to go to university and have a family one day. One night, an older neighborhood boy introduces them to marijuana. Kazuki quickly becomes the point man for the dealer, encouraging his buddies to continue smoking up. Jin and Kengo drift along with the situation but Kodai strongly feels he’s on the wrong path. Finally gaining support from his wayward, financially challenged mother, Kodai puts all his energies into studying for his university entrance exam. How will things turn out for these once inseparable buddies?
■Director TACHIBANA Ryo drew on his upbringing in the Osaka suburbs in depicting the divergences that a close-knit group of friends inevitably experience. The scenes play out in a naturalistic manner without any affectations among the young cast. TACHIBANA tells a familiar story with a fresh approach.
*Special Jury Prize*
ReversiblelbisreveR (working title) by ISHIDA Shinomichi (77 min.) 『リバーシブル／リバーシブル』
A man living with a mental disorder works as a driver for an outcall escort service to support his son and meet women.
Middle-aged Shinpei lives with mental issues and is supported by regular visits from his caregiver. She encourages him to stick to his meds, take regular baths, and tidy up. While Shinpei has trouble with self-care, he’s also cognizant enough to get a job to support his adult son, Kai. Accompanied by Kai, he drives escort women to and from their outcalls and carries out menial tasks at the dispatch office. He’s drawn to one quiet young woman in particular named Misaki. Misaki claims she can see fairies, which provides her solace. At dinner, Shinpei confesses his feelings and Misaki agrees to spend time with him. Shinpei is overjoyed, but his caregiver has concerns about the reality of dating a woman engaged in sexual services. Kai is also rudely pranking Shinpei every night, so they hold a house meeting to decide how make everyone happier. Is it all a figment of Shinpei’s imagination? Does it matter?
■Director ISHIDA Shinomichi worked as a caregiver for 12 years and draws on his experience with those suffering from schizophrenia in crafting his protagonist. The film’s strong empathy for its troubled characters and their desires makes it relatable despite the societally “difficult” position they inhabit.
**Entertainment Award (Hori Pro Prize)* *
Perfect Young Lady by WATANABE Ryuhei (65 min.) 『完璧な若い女性』
Two childhood friends hang out in their hometown during their summer break as they’re carried along by a mysterious cassette of pop songs.
Kurobe is a Tokyo freeter who’s back in Shizuoka for the annual summer fireworks. He runs into his childhood chum Erika on the streets and the pair casually agree to drive around in her estranged father’s vintage Volvo. Erika shares a tape cassette of pop songs delivered to her house by an anonymous artist known as “Perfect Young Lady.” Were they recorded by Kurobe’s childhood crush, Shione? As the pair hang out and talk over the old days and issues with their folks, the slow summer is punctuated by music videos of a cute girl singing in various town locales they visit: the abandoned water park, a retro bowling alley, and a love hotel. Will Kurobe discover the true identity of the “perfect young lady”? Is she even real? In the end it may not matter, as Kurobe and Erika discover something more valuable along the way.
■Director WATANABE Ryuhei draws from the kayōkyoku (hit song) movies of the 1950s to 1970s, where lyrics inspired freewheeling love stories with musical numbers. With its colorful, Showa-style opening credits and infectious musical interludes, the film is more than pastiche as it delves into the true nature of personal relationships.
* Cinema Fan Award (Pianist Prize) *
See You Then by ISHIKAWA Taichi (52 min.) 『じゃ、また。』
When a former filmmaker now dwelling as a hikikomori is suddenly visited by an old classmate, he’s given a second chance at a creative life.
27-year-old Nariyasu spends his days lying around doing absolutely nothing. He doesn’t even know what month it is. A figure suddenly appears in his apartment. It’s his old film school mate, Shuta. Shuta looks through Nariyasu’s books, but strangely claims “I came here because I thought you were searching for something.” Shuta pushes Nariyasu to continue playing their board game of Life, which they never finished years ago. The pair shot a movie together at film school, but it remains uncompleted. Nariyasu ran out of ideas, failed at his job search, which has led to his current inert state. “I can’t call it living,” he admits. Nariyasu follows Shuta out of the apartment and into a deserted cinema and gets knocked out. The story replays from the beginning and we’re now given an additional detail –– Shuta is already dead. But why has he paid this visit to Nariyasu?
■Stories that take place during obon naturally focus on family members, but director ISHIKAWA Taichi (who also plays Nariyasu) switches it up to a dearly departed friend. The tight confines of the apartment are keenly framed, with the cinema set evoking a separate compartment of the protagonist’s mind.
* Audience Award *
Memory Devices by TAKAHASHI Sota (71 min.) 『移動する記憶装置展』
A wandering artist arrives in the small town of Kami-iida and sets out to document the past. His art project forces the locals to look at what life there once was, and what it’s become.
In the rapidly aging town of Kami-iida, Yokohama, Mako’s late father has bequeathed her a tenant space in a dilapidated shopping center and a small apartment, which she shares with her roommate Sumire. Mako rents out the space and a room at their place to an itinerant artist named Tanishige, who plans a multimedia installation exploring the town’s past. Tanishige sets about recording the recollections of local elderly residents, who recount vivid memories of sports events, cultural festivals, and young people crowding the shopping center. The lively energy that once permeated the area has vanished, with few sons and daughters willing to take over the existing businesses. The dusty omikoshi (portable shrine) is brought out of storage and the procession reenacted by some local kids. Sumire, a procrastinating creator herself, initially resents Mako changing the dynamic in the apartment, but inadvertently ends up helping Tanishige complete his work. The experience leads her to make a decision.
■By filming in the town of his own grandparents, director TAKAHASHI Sota aimed to collaborate with local denizens and capture Kamiiida’s changing landscape. Many objects and memories may languish in “storage,” but this film shows that their spirit is alive just under the surface.
Other films: Order of screening time
USE BY YOUTH by TAKAGI Maru (51 min.) 『USE BY YOUTH』
In a town where boys play punch-out games with each others’ faces, a traumatized youth who barely speaks somehow becomes the hero.
Under a suburban bridge, high school boys face off against each other in chalk circles, where they play bouts of rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets to punch who in the face next. It’s not a one-time dare –– it’s a way of life for Fumi and his agitators. When Fumi hits a losing skid, he calls on his mute buddy Sanada, whose fists are permanently wrapped in bandages. Sanada clubs the ringleader out cold. When Sanada was a child, he accidentally killed his pet mosquito with a smack so he keeps his hands taped up and prays to his beloved late pet every day. When Fumi and Sanada take a couple of girls out on a double-date, Sanada witnesses his girl, Emiri, kill a mosquito and instinctively punches her in the face. He has to make it up to Emiri. Meanwhile, Fumi battles to the end...
■Director TAKAGI Maru stated he aimed to “express the conflicts of each of the characters in an unusual worldview,” and took that to bursting extremes. Much of the film is shot with a fisheye lens, which along with the frenetic editing perfectly suits the warped environment the manic characters inhabit.
Run Away by YAMAGUCHI Marin (57 min.)『逃避』
A late night road accident throws a young man’s career plans and relationship with his girlfriend into jeopardy. Their bond is tested, but will time heal all?
Near a train crossing in the dead of night, Kazuma crawls back to his vehicle after an accident with a bicycle and leaves the scene. He keeps the incident a secret from his live in girlfriend Ayano, but she finds a strange stain on his dirty laundry. Kazuma can’t concentrate for his upcoming medical school exam and sleeps all day, making Ayano become increasingly concerned over his erratic behavior. He even hides from a visiting police officer After a day trip to the countryside, Kazuma returns to the scene of the accident, unable to accept it. Ayano is there for emotional support but Kazuma doubts her commitment, causing a major rift between them. When the day arrives for Kazuma to face justice, he asks Ayano an important question.“Will you wait for me?”
■Drawing on his own life, director YAMAGUCHI Marin conceived of this film as a way to explore how a person gets back on their feet after major misfortune, and how those most important to them relate to the situation. The two lead performances carry the film and the unconventional insertion of flash forward scenes imbues the drama with more power than a conventional linear story.
Homo Amicusby MABUCHI Arisa (42 min.)『ホモ・アミークス』
When a man takes a job at a scientific facility experimenting on human-like animals, he unexpectedly bonds with one of the creatures.
Tashiro interviews for a job at a peculiar scientific facility running experiments on a mysterious new animal known as Homo Amicus. Tashiro says he desires to “save lives” to make a good impression and lands the job. The Homo Amicus resemble humans but can only say the word “stop!” They live in numbered cages, given toys and dishes of food like dogs, and brutally disposed of once they’ve served their purpose. Tashiro senses that one of the beasts, number 802, is different than the others. He discovers 802 can only go to sleep if he lets it suck his thumb –– they develop a bond. Meanwhile, a man looks after his wheelchair-bound wife, whose condition is rapidly worsening. Her husband must make a choice. How will the two stories intersect? An incident at the facility causes Tashiro to lose his job, but he can’t forget 802, leading to a literally uplifting finale.
■Director MABUCHI Arisa questions the sacrifice of one living thing for another’s benefit in this strangely affecting portrait of a man who becomes keenly aware of the spirit of sentient beings. Overcomes its low budget with effective use of locations and staging.
Retake by NAKANO Kota (110 min.)『リテイク』
A female student decides on a whim to make a movie over her high school’s summer break, enlisting the help of four old and new friends. The relationship dynamics change as the group get closer to finishing the movie.
High schooler Kei takes photos as a hobby. He treasures some covertly snapped images of a girl in his school named Yu (his crush unbeknownst to her). One day, Yu catches Kei sneaking a picture of her from a local bridge. She suddenly declares she wants to direct a movie and asks him to be her cameraman and to find her a lead actor. Kei calls up his old buddy Jiro, who has drawing skills, and he’s immediately cast as a painter. Yu’s classmate Umi will assist the production and act alongside Jiro as a couple who journey to a land where time has stopped. The team realizes their sound is lacking and secretly borrow a proper mic from the broadcast club. Kei impulsively hires Yu’s ex-bandmate Arisa to record. As the quintet shoot each scene, their personal feelings and histories are revealed, particularly during the “retakes”...
■The first half of the film plays out in linear fashion until, following its namesake, director NAKANO Kota brilliantly doubles and triples the story back on itself to add richness and texture to the main plot. The final sequence takes the concept even further, illustrating that filmmaking itself is living in the moment.
**Runner-Up Prize**
Touch by TAKADA Kyosuke (56 min.) 『ふれる』
An elementary schoolgirl comes to terms with the loss of her mother and changes in her family over the final summer in her hometown before moving away.
10-year-old Misaki is a precocious, sensitive girl who still feels the presence of her late mother at home. Misaki sets a place for her mom at the table and won’t let anybody sit in her chair. Her father now has a new girlfriend and wants the family to move on as best they can, but accepts that Misaki takes life at a different pace than her older sister. Misaki’s hobby is pottery and she receives lessons with a local potter, feeling solace when shaping the clay in her hands. After accidentally breaking a classmate’s artwork at school, Misaki runs away from home. That evening she inadvertently joins a traditional obon festival procession and has an unexpected encounter, before waking up in hospital with a bandaged head. The family prepare to leave the ghosts of the old house behind and move to a neighboring city, but Misaki will carry some things with her for the rest of her life...
■Director TAKADA Kyosuke crafts an impressively mature, sure-handed drama which beautifully captures the presence of someone who has left the physical world. Young actress SUZUKI Yui, who plays Misaki, is a true discovery.
*Special Jury Prize*
The Bon Festival(working title) by TERANISHI Ryo ( 28 min.) 『うらぼんえ』
An art class teacher is influenced by a student to create a painting dedicated to his late son, who drowned as a child. When he later helps a middle-aged man who collapses at the beach, it leads to a surprisingly poignant realization.
Shinji has recurring dreams of reaching out to save his son Keita, who drowned as a youth. So vivid, in fact, that he wakes up with an injured arm from the tight grip of a hand. In the art class Shinji teaches, one of his students paints a mukasari ema (portrait of a post-mortem marriage), which inspires Shinji to do the same for his son. When his students accompany him to the the seashore location depicted in his previous painting, Shinji helps revive a drunken, middle-aged man. He accompanies the man back to his house, where his family carry out preparations for the coming obon period. Shinji is surprised to notice that their son is a dead ringer for Keita. He calls his mother to tell her, but she has an even more surprising revelation...
■Filmmaker TERANISHI Ryo collaborated with his cast from the writing phase, which gives this short a thoughtful, carefully developed feel. The unexpected reversal of fate is handled with a sure hand, with a poetic visual payoff that embodies the true spirit of obon.
*Special Jury Prize*
Cage by TACHIBANA Ryo (66 min.) 『鳥籠』
The bonds between a tight group of four, aimless suburban teens begin to fracture when an older neighborhood boy introduces them to drugs.
Kodai, Jin, Kengo, and Kazuki have grown up together on the streets of their suburban neighborhood. They spend their days hanging out in the local park, shooting hoops, smoking, and listening to hip hop. They all put up with issues at home and don’t have much hope for the future beyond getting jobs after high school, except for Kodai, who has a vague desire to go to university and have a family one day. One night, an older neighborhood boy introduces them to marijuana. Kazuki quickly becomes the point man for the dealer, encouraging his buddies to continue smoking up. Jin and Kengo drift along with the situation but Kodai strongly feels he’s on the wrong path. Finally gaining support from his wayward, financially challenged mother, Kodai puts all his energies into studying for his university entrance exam. How will things turn out for these once inseparable buddies?
■Director TACHIBANA Ryo drew on his upbringing in the Osaka suburbs in depicting the divergences that a close-knit group of friends inevitably experience. The scenes play out in a naturalistic manner without any affectations among the young cast. TACHIBANA tells a familiar story with a fresh approach.
*Special Jury Prize*
ReversiblelbisreveR (working title) by ISHIDA Shinomichi (77 min.) 『リバーシブル／リバーシブル』
A man living with a mental disorder works as a driver for an outcall escort service to support his son and meet women.
Middle-aged Shinpei lives with mental issues and is supported by regular visits from his caregiver. She encourages him to stick to his meds, take regular baths, and tidy up. While Shinpei has trouble with self-care, he’s also cognizant enough to get a job to support his adult son, Kai. Accompanied by Kai, he drives escort women to and from their outcalls and carries out menial tasks at the dispatch office. He’s drawn to one quiet young woman in particular named Misaki. Misaki claims she can see fairies, which provides her solace. At dinner, Shinpei confesses his feelings and Misaki agrees to spend time with him. Shinpei is overjoyed, but his caregiver has concerns about the reality of dating a woman engaged in sexual services. Kai is also rudely pranking Shinpei every night, so they hold a house meeting to decide how make everyone happier. Is it all a figment of Shinpei’s imagination? Does it matter?
■Director ISHIDA Shinomichi worked as a caregiver for 12 years and draws on his experience with those suffering from schizophrenia in crafting his protagonist. The film’s strong empathy for its troubled characters and their desires makes it relatable despite the societally “difficult” position they inhabit.
**Entertainment Award (Hori Pro Prize)* *
Perfect Young Lady by WATANABE Ryuhei (65 min.) 『完璧な若い女性』
Two childhood friends hang out in their hometown during their summer break as they’re carried along by a mysterious cassette of pop songs.
Kurobe is a Tokyo freeter who’s back in Shizuoka for the annual summer fireworks. He runs into his childhood chum Erika on the streets and the pair casually agree to drive around in her estranged father’s vintage Volvo. Erika shares a tape cassette of pop songs delivered to her house by an anonymous artist known as “Perfect Young Lady.” Were they recorded by Kurobe’s childhood crush, Shione? As the pair hang out and talk over the old days and issues with their folks, the slow summer is punctuated by music videos of a cute girl singing in various town locales they visit: the abandoned water park, a retro bowling alley, and a love hotel. Will Kurobe discover the true identity of the “perfect young lady”? Is she even real? In the end it may not matter, as Kurobe and Erika discover something more valuable along the way.
■Director WATANABE Ryuhei draws from the kayōkyoku (hit song) movies of the 1950s to 1970s, where lyrics inspired freewheeling love stories with musical numbers. With its colorful, Showa-style opening credits and infectious musical interludes, the film is more than pastiche as it delves into the true nature of personal relationships.
* Cinema Fan Award (Pianist Prize) *
See You Then by ISHIKAWA Taichi (52 min.) 『じゃ、また。』
When a former filmmaker now dwelling as a hikikomori is suddenly visited by an old classmate, he’s given a second chance at a creative life.
27-year-old Nariyasu spends his days lying around doing absolutely nothing. He doesn’t even know what month it is. A figure suddenly appears in his apartment. It’s his old film school mate, Shuta. Shuta looks through Nariyasu’s books, but strangely claims “I came here because I thought you were searching for something.” Shuta pushes Nariyasu to continue playing their board game of Life, which they never finished years ago. The pair shot a movie together at film school, but it remains uncompleted. Nariyasu ran out of ideas, failed at his job search, which has led to his current inert state. “I can’t call it living,” he admits. Nariyasu follows Shuta out of the apartment and into a deserted cinema and gets knocked out. The story replays from the beginning and we’re now given an additional detail –– Shuta is already dead. But why has he paid this visit to Nariyasu?
■Stories that take place during obon naturally focus on family members, but director ISHIKAWA Taichi (who also plays Nariyasu) switches it up to a dearly departed friend. The tight confines of the apartment are keenly framed, with the cinema set evoking a separate compartment of the protagonist’s mind.
* Audience Award *
Memory Devices by TAKAHASHI Sota (71 min.) 『移動する記憶装置展』
A wandering artist arrives in the small town of Kami-iida and sets out to document the past. His art project forces the locals to look at what life there once was, and what it’s become.
In the rapidly aging town of Kami-iida, Yokohama, Mako’s late father has bequeathed her a tenant space in a dilapidated shopping center and a small apartment, which she shares with her roommate Sumire. Mako rents out the space and a room at their place to an itinerant artist named Tanishige, who plans a multimedia installation exploring the town’s past. Tanishige sets about recording the recollections of local elderly residents, who recount vivid memories of sports events, cultural festivals, and young people crowding the shopping center. The lively energy that once permeated the area has vanished, with few sons and daughters willing to take over the existing businesses. The dusty omikoshi (portable shrine) is brought out of storage and the procession reenacted by some local kids. Sumire, a procrastinating creator herself, initially resents Mako changing the dynamic in the apartment, but inadvertently ends up helping Tanishige complete his work. The experience leads her to make a decision.
■By filming in the town of his own grandparents, director TAKAHASHI Sota aimed to collaborate with local denizens and capture Kamiiida’s changing landscape. Many objects and memories may languish in “storage,” but this film shows that their spirit is alive just under the surface.
Other films: Order of screening time
USE BY YOUTH by TAKAGI Maru (51 min.) 『USE BY YOUTH』
In a town where boys play punch-out games with each others’ faces, a traumatized youth who barely speaks somehow becomes the hero.
Under a suburban bridge, high school boys face off against each other in chalk circles, where they play bouts of rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets to punch who in the face next. It’s not a one-time dare –– it’s a way of life for Fumi and his agitators. When Fumi hits a losing skid, he calls on his mute buddy Sanada, whose fists are permanently wrapped in bandages. Sanada clubs the ringleader out cold. When Sanada was a child, he accidentally killed his pet mosquito with a smack so he keeps his hands taped up and prays to his beloved late pet every day. When Fumi and Sanada take a couple of girls out on a double-date, Sanada witnesses his girl, Emiri, kill a mosquito and instinctively punches her in the face. He has to make it up to Emiri. Meanwhile, Fumi battles to the end...
■Director TAKAGI Maru stated he aimed to “express the conflicts of each of the characters in an unusual worldview,” and took that to bursting extremes. Much of the film is shot with a fisheye lens, which along with the frenetic editing perfectly suits the warped environment the manic characters inhabit.
Run Away by YAMAGUCHI Marin (57 min.)『逃避』
A late night road accident throws a young man’s career plans and relationship with his girlfriend into jeopardy. Their bond is tested, but will time heal all?
Near a train crossing in the dead of night, Kazuma crawls back to his vehicle after an accident with a bicycle and leaves the scene. He keeps the incident a secret from his live in girlfriend Ayano, but she finds a strange stain on his dirty laundry. Kazuma can’t concentrate for his upcoming medical school exam and sleeps all day, making Ayano become increasingly concerned over his erratic behavior. He even hides from a visiting police officer After a day trip to the countryside, Kazuma returns to the scene of the accident, unable to accept it. Ayano is there for emotional support but Kazuma doubts her commitment, causing a major rift between them. When the day arrives for Kazuma to face justice, he asks Ayano an important question.“Will you wait for me?”
■Drawing on his own life, director YAMAGUCHI Marin conceived of this film as a way to explore how a person gets back on their feet after major misfortune, and how those most important to them relate to the situation. The two lead performances carry the film and the unconventional insertion of flash forward scenes imbues the drama with more power than a conventional linear story.
Homo Amicusby MABUCHI Arisa (42 min.)『ホモ・アミークス』
When a man takes a job at a scientific facility experimenting on human-like animals, he unexpectedly bonds with one of the creatures.
Tashiro interviews for a job at a peculiar scientific facility running experiments on a mysterious new animal known as Homo Amicus. Tashiro says he desires to “save lives” to make a good impression and lands the job. The Homo Amicus resemble humans but can only say the word “stop!” They live in numbered cages, given toys and dishes of food like dogs, and brutally disposed of once they’ve served their purpose. Tashiro senses that one of the beasts, number 802, is different than the others. He discovers 802 can only go to sleep if he lets it suck his thumb –– they develop a bond. Meanwhile, a man looks after his wheelchair-bound wife, whose condition is rapidly worsening. Her husband must make a choice. How will the two stories intersect? An incident at the facility causes Tashiro to lose his job, but he can’t forget 802, leading to a literally uplifting finale.
■Director MABUCHI Arisa questions the sacrifice of one living thing for another’s benefit in this strangely affecting portrait of a man who becomes keenly aware of the spirit of sentient beings. Overcomes its low budget with effective use of locations and staging.