Four Seasons: Utopiano

A boy rescues a girl who has collapsed in a river, from their exchanges and memories a tale of loneliness and meaningful connection gradually unfolds.

Adaptation of a manga by Yoshiharu Tsuge.

This is the first work in the "River" series, born from Sasaki's idea that "music was born on the banks of the river." The lives of people living on the banks of the river are depicted through "sounds" such as the bells and violins that ring through the town. The story is set in Cremona, a town on the banks of the Po River in northern Italy. A-san, a tuner, deepens her ties with the people living in the Po River basin while repairing broken violins.

The story of a man and woman dealing with amnesia, set in Prague.

Second in the River series. Piano tuner Eiko visits a town on the banks of the Guadalquivir River in Andalusia, Spain. In the dazzling light, she interacts with the people of Andalusia—a master guitar maker, a cave excavator, and a flamenco prodigy—and spends a summer surrounded by the sounds they create.

Minyoung is a university co-ed living in Seoul. One photograph left to her by her late grandmother brings Minyoung all the way to Japan. And wherever she goes, she finds the enchanting melody of Mozart. The dreams of the people she meets vibrates together with harmonic beauty…

A 15-year-old boy, Hiroshi, wanders about in atmospheric early-1970s Japan. It is a drama that depicts human encounters in exploration of the meaning of life.

While working for NHK as a 16mm film cameraman, Suzuki traveled to various parts of the country, particularly for shooting on location for rural programs and youth programs. In between filming shows he captured the scenery from a completely personal perspective, starting to think about the meaning of the landscapes he encountered.

In this NHK Special, Olga Struskova, author from Prague, appears. Connections to the world of life on the streets of Tokyo are explored

Third in the River series. Piano tuner Eiko travels up the Danube River. In the ancient city of Bratislava, where Mozart's melodies flow, she encounters the sound of shepherds calling forth spring from the earth with their long whips, the echoing sound of the fujara flute in the mountains and fields, and a music box playing memories... Eiko meets the kind-hearted people of Slovakia and the vibrant sounds of spring.

A nine-year-old boy, Ken, alone in the city of Kobe during the port festival and holding on to the image of his absent mother, encounters people who speak different languages, or are from different countries or environments.

A Japanese woman travels around Australia in search of her lover whose whereabouts are unknown. Her interactions with the people whose lives are rooted in the area are enchanting