Mikage, a young woman who loses her parents when young. She grows up in a lonely household with her grandmother who dies when Mikage reaches adulthood. Grief-stricken, she finds solace in the kitchen.
Cinematography
Glowing kitchen interiors that feel womb-like and sacred.
Acting
Keiji Matsuda's gentle stillness against Kawahara's radiant grief.
Score
Sparse piano that knows when to disappear completely.
Director
Yoshimitsu Morita
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adapted from Banana Yoshimoto's 1988 novel that defined Japanese 'shōjo' literature for a generation.
Morita's casting of Isao Hashizume as Eriko was controversial; the novel leaves her gender more ambiguous, while the film makes her trans identity explicit.
JP
