Director: Jun Ichikawa
Runtime: 75 minutes
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
Rating: PG

Synopsis

Adapted from the short story by Haruki Murakami, the film relates the solitary life of Tony Takitani. His mother died young and his father was always away with his jazz band. At school he studied art, but while his sketches were accurate and detailed, they lacked feeling. Used to being self-sufficient, Tony seems to find emotions illogical and immature. After finding his true vocation as a technical illustrator, he becomes fascinated by Eiko and falls in love.

His life changes, he feels vibrantly alive and for the first time and he understands and fears loneliness. But Eiko has one big problem, an all-consuming obsession for designer clothes. When he asks her to resist her compulsions, the consequences are tragic.

The titular role of the melancholic Tony Takitani was portrayed by Issey Ogata, who was already famous in Japan as a comedian since the 1980s. He would become more well-known in world cinema as Ota in Edward Yang’s Yi Yi (2000) and in Martin Scorsese’s Silence (2016). As the female lead, Rie Miyazawa also has an equally fascinating career, co-starring in Taiwanese filmmaker Yonfan’s Peony Pavilion (2001) opposite Joey Wong. The score for the film was composed by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Text adapted from Celluloid Dreams.

This screening is part of the programme Styled & Sutured: Fashion on Screen. For more screenings, please click here.

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