Part of the 2022 season: What Lies Beneath

The Lone Ume Tree

Ume kiranu baka,  梅切らぬバカ

Director WAJIMA Kotaro

Cast KAGA Mariko, TSUKAJI Muga, WATANABE Ikkei

UK Premiere, 2021, 77 min, English Subtitles

Reaching middle-age, Tadao (TSUKAJI Muga), has always lived at home with his fortune-teller single mother, Tamako (KAGA Mariko), owing to his autism. Attending local community workshops and pursuing his love of horses is the only life he knows. Tamako, who raised Tadao almost single-handedly, is now worried about what his future holds after her death and decides to send Tadao to a group home for disabled residents so he can live independently. However, his transition into a new life is not as smooth as she had hoped.

With disability rarely represented in mainstream media, director WAJIMA Kotaro captures with great sensitivity and notes of humour, the strength and vitality of a mother and her disabled son, while not shying away from the problems, prejudices, and conflicts faced by disadvantaged people and their families in Japan.

 

Related Events

Online Talk : 23 March from 12:30 (GMT)

The Lone Ume Tree – Capturing Living with Disabilities and Care in Society

A conversation with Director WAJIMA Kotaro (The Lone Ume Tree) and James Moore.

Free event, but booking is essential.

Booking: Click here.

For more information, see Related Events.

Past screenings