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Suzaku (1997)

Director: Naomi Kawase

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From Time Out Film Guide

Impressionistic portrait of a dying family in a dying mountain village in Nara Prefecture: a 'nothing happens' film which ratherly cleverly camouflages its own lack of grip and focus by hinting at hidden themes (incest, ghosts) and using people from the real-life village as actors. It opens in 1971: recession is already thinning the population but Kozo Tahara (Kunimura, the only professional actor) believes that a rail link will bring new prosperity and eagerly helps dig the tunnel through the mountain. Fifteen years later the railroad is a forgotten dream, the tunnel seems haunted and the Taharas are fading fast. According to Kawase, the obscure title refers to a local bird deity; she wants to see the Tahara family as if through this creature's eyes. Somebody must buy this stuff, because the film won the 1997 Caméra d'Or at Cannes.

Author: TR 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


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