Tatsuya Kawamura

One rainy night, somewhere in the corner of the city, uncanny memories meet on a motel bed.

Oosumi, a dummy artist, makes the figure of Mari who is the wife of a gangster called Kurokin. Oosumi decides to run away with Mari, but Mari disappears. One night, Kaako, a musician's wife, meets a ghost cat and she is possessed by Mari's spirit.

In this black comedy the lives of a timid small-time printer and his young wife are turned inside out by the arrival of a stranger who moves in and takes over their world. Set in a village-like outpost in the heart of Tokyo, this is a wry commentary on Japanese xenophobia. Kiki Sugino heads a spritely ensemble cast.

Memories can be blocked, but they can also be invented. Psychology professor Eiko works with people who were traumatized by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. But the topic affects her more personally than she wants to admit. Narrative structures begin to intertwine, reality becomes ambiguous. Like a surgeon, SHINOZAKI dissects the human mind in this complex yet moving film.

Film by Daisuke Miki, 1999.