Part of the 2024 season: Unforgettable

Ripples

Hamon, 波紋

Director OGIGAMI Naoko

Cast TSUTSUI Mariko, MITSUISHI Ken, ISOMURA Hayato, ANDO Tamae

2022, 120 min, English subtitles

Yoriko (TSUTSUI Mariko) leads a mundane but peaceful life caring for her husband Osamu (MITSUISHI Ken), her son Takuya (ISOMURA Hayato), and her bedridden father-in-law. That is, until her husband suddenly disappears, fearful of radiation poisoning in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, and her son leaves for university.

Feeling abandoned, Yoriko devotes herself to a new religion known as “Ryokumei-kai.” The group returns to Yoriko the company and sense of belonging she had been lacking, and she begins to once again feel satisfied with life, but her peace is disturbed when Osamu and Takuya return, and their respective reasons for doing so drive Yoriko to breaking point.

Directed by OGIGAMI Naoko, one of Japan’s most prolific female directors, Ripples is an expert blend of tragedy and dark humour that shines a spotlight on many of the social issues ordinary Japanese people face today, from the suffering of women and the burden of caregiving to cults, ableism, and the anxiety of life after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

©2022 “RIPPLES” Film Partners

 

原発事故による放射能、介護、新興宗教、障害者差別といった現代社会が抱える問題に次々と巻き込まれる家族を描いた人間ドラマ。自分の父の介護を押し付けたまま失踪した夫、障害のあるガールフレンドをもつ息子が、時を同じくして依子の元に戻って来る。自分ではどうにもできない辛苦に、依子は湧き起こる黒い感情を、宗教にすがって解決しようとする。

(Special thanks to Eikoku News Digest)

Past screenings