Asleep - Japan Cuts 2015

Asleep
白河夜船 (Shirakawa Yofune)
Thursday, July 16, 6:30 PM
FEATURE SLATE
CENTERPIECE PRESENTATION
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Introduction and Q&A with star Sakura Ando
Photographer and filmmaker Shingo Wakagi adapts Banana Yoshimoto’s story from her 1989 compilation of the same name in a spare and elegant style reminiscent of Jun Ichikawa’s Tony Takitani. Sakura Ando shines as Terako, a young woman having an affair with middle-aged Iwanaga (Arata Iura), whose wife is in a coma following a traffic accident. Caught in a depressive dreamlike stasis, Terako sleeps excessively waiting for Iwanaga’s calls following the suicide of her friend (Mitsuki Tanimura), who had the unconventional livelihood of accompanying sleeping strangers in bed for money without sex. An aesthetic delight, Asleep pushes on our understanding of intimacy and pleasure, nudging us to wake up.
Japan. 2015. 91 min. DCP, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Shingo Wakagi. With Sakura Ando, Arata Iura, Mitsuki Tanimura, Guama, Yoshiaki Takahashi.
Opening Film at 2015 Osaka Asian Film Festival
Part of JAPAN CUTS 2015.
Tickets
$13/$10 Japan Society members, seniors & students