„Shiori“-Wegweiser

In the organizer's words:

栞 Shiori

Director: SAKAKIBARA Yûsuke
2018, 118 minutes, original language, Blu-ray

This drama about the hardships and difficulties of medical care is based on the personal experiences of director Sakakibara, who himself was a physiotherapist before embarking on a career as a filmmaker.

The young Takano Masaya lost his mother at an early age and lives apart from his father and younger sister. He works as a physiotherapist in a hospital and is devoted to his patients. But one day his father is admitted and as Masaya watches his father's condition deteriorate, he feels helpless. Also new to the ward is a young rugby player who is paralyzed on one side. Impressed by the former athlete's strength and will to live, Masaya manages to gain new courage and look at life with more hope.

Film series
Sources of strength in life
New additions to the film library of the Japanese Cultural Institute

Where do people find strength when they hit rock bottom or suffer setbacks? The films from the Cultural Institute's film library show in a variety of ways what possibilities there can be to gain new perspectives and find a way out of difficult situations.

The first film is a drama about a seemingly intact family whose structure is disrupted by the mother's illness(Bokutachi no kazoku). A young physiotherapist also develops new perspectives as a result of his father's illness(Shiori).

However, it is not just about external wounds, but also internal ones. Two young girls find new self-confidence by playing the drums(Ai ni hibike) and two adult women are confronted with the question of how happiness and money are connected during a love affair(Ano ko wa kizoku). Understanding each other helps to overcome differences, as the stories about a young Korean woman(Tsumugu) and a tofu store owner(Takano tôfu ten no haru) show.

Fun entertainment is also provided, as a cat turns out to be a ninja in an action comedy in the style of a jidaigeki (historical film) and the employees in an office are trapped in a time loop(MONDAYS). Finally, a documentary provides rare insights into Japan's national sport(Sumôdô).

Price information:

Admission free