Synopsis
Yoko hosts a popular global travel show yet is cautious and insular like many young Japanese. But she has a bigger dream. On assignment in Uzbekistan, Yoko and her small TV crew attempt to catch a mythical fish but fail. They also film segments in Samarkand but feel it’s lacking. Indifferent to her job, Yoko prefers texting her boyfriend in Tokyo. At night, she comes across a tied up goat and suggests releasing it on camera. The plan goes awry and Yoko feels indignant and naive. The team move to Tashkent where Yoko wanders into an opulent theatre, fantasizing she’s on stage. She confides her ambitions to her cameraman but admits her heart’s not ready. While filming, Yoko’s timid nature inadvertently gets her in trouble with the police. At the station she hears of a disaster in Tokyo and realizes how important human communication truly is. Some of the team return to Japan but Yoko stays. As she ventures into the mountains she sings from the heart and her spirit is freed.
Filmmaker
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
He began making 8 mm films while studying Sociology at Rikkyo University under the tutelage of Shigehiko Hasumi. He is known for his numerous contributions to Japanese horror cinema, including titles such as Sweet Home, inspiration for great contemporary titles in the genre such as Resident Evil; or J-Horror references such as The Cure or Pulse (Kairo). Among other awards, he received the Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice for Wife of a Spy.
Filmography: Chime (mid-length film, 2024, D'A 2025), Cloud (2024), Serpent’s Path (2024), Actually... (short film, 2022), Wife of a Spy (2020), To the Ends of the Earth (2019, D'A 2020), Foreboding (2018), Before We Vanish (2017), Daguerrotype (2016, D'A 2017), Creepy (2016), Journey to the Shore (2015), Real (2014), Seventh Code (2013), Tokyo Sonata (2008), Retribution (2006), Loft (2005), House of Bugs (mid-length film, 2005), Doppelganger (2003), Bright Future (2002), Pulse (Kairo) (2001), Séance (2000), Charisma (1999), Barren Illusions (1999), Serpent’s Path (1998), Eyes of the Spider (1998), License to Live (1998), The Revenge II (1997), The Revenge I: A Visit from Fate (1997), The Cure (1997), Door 3 (1996), 893 Taxi (1994), The Guard from the Underground (1992), Sweet Home (1989), The Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl (1985), Kandagawa Wars (mid-length film, 1983)
Poster
