About

Yumiko (Yōko Tsukasa) is preparing to leave for a new life in the United States with her husband Hiroshi, when he is suddenly killed in a car accident. Suspended between grief and uncertainty, newly widowed Yumiko is forced to return to her rural hometown in Aomori, where the weight of tradition and expectation leaves little space for female independence. The driver responsible for Hiroshi’s death, Shiro (Yūzō Kayama), is consumed by a moral sense of obligation and offers Yumiko ongoing financial support, despite being cleared by the courts of any legal wrongdoing.This self-imposed commitment draws the pair into an unexpected and deeply complicated relationship, which unfolds against the stunning landscapeof Tōhoku.

Shot in luminous colour, Mikio Naruse’s final film distils many of the director's enduring themes: the burdens imposed on women by society, the constraints of traditional roles and the quiet inevitability of emotional compromise. With his characteristic restraint, Naruse renders everyday moments with aching precision, allowing grief and desire to coexist without resolution.

All Ages | Contains mild themes, coarse language and suicide references