22-year old secretary Kazuko first bumps into Tamaki on the way back from work. Tamaki is crawling along the sidewalk on crutches at a snail's pace, and stumbles into the young audiotypist after apparently having trouble with an ill-fitting shoe over her cast. After helping her back to her feet, Kazuko follows Tamaki back to her apartment, the two of them barely exchanging words. Once in Tamaki's room, Kazuko is dispatched on an errand to fetch some beer... Their game begins..
Acting
Machiko Ono's silence speaks louder than any dialogue.
Direction
Shiota weaponizes negative space and unspoken tension.
Cinematography
Claustrophobic framing that makes walls feel like accomplices.
Director
Akihiko Shiota
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shiota's 'Sabbatical' trilogy explores damaged women in closed spaces; Gips is its most suffocating entry. The cast becomes a character.
Hinako Saeki reportedly stayed in character's restricted movement between takes, earning genuine friction with Ono's improvisational silence.
JP
