Sleeping Man

Gunma Prefecture in rural Japan conceived an unusual way to celebrate its population passing the two million mark, commissioning Kohei Oguri to take this reflective look at life in the region. Injured in a climbing accident, a young man lies in a coma, much to the consternation of family and friends, but the film's focus is more on the community as a whole, and life must go on. It's an ensemble piece which seems to pick up and drop plot strands and incident as it goes along, reflecting on both the influence of immigration and the call of escape. Oguri's determination to leave things tantalisingly unresolved may frustrate the viewer's expectations, but his pacing and composition have an other-worldly resonance.