Childhood friends Sota, and Rakuto are on a journey to find the Phoenix, which shouldn't exist. As adults, there remains a dark shadow over each of them as their lives have progressed, thus they seek a bit of escapism in their travels. Parallel to their own story, is the mysterious bride. Not to mention a deserted youkai snack bar in the underworld, a gang from an SM Castle, an agricultural rapper, a young man on a bike trip, a monk peaching about enlightenment, the owner and operator of an empty movie theater, and more that the duo meet on their aimless journey. The hints of the true colors of life are within the journey, so what kind of Phoenix are they looking for?
Writing
Interwoven vignettes that somehow form a cohesive emotional whole.
Direction
Tanaka balances deadpan absurdity with genuine melancholy.
Acting
Iura and Narita carry decades of unspoken history in every glance.
Director
Yûichirô Tanaka
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Yûichirô Tanaka reportedly wrote the agricultural rapper's verses himself after becoming obsessed with Japanese farming hip-hop subculture.
The phoenix motif references the Hindu-Buddhist Garuda and Chinese Fenghuang, but the film subverts both—here, resurrection isn't grand, it's two tired friends in a car.
JP
