From the old town of Nara, the capital of Japan during the eighth and ninth centuries, the Aso family sets out for the Jizo Festival in the dizzying heat of midsummer. When Kei, one of the Asos’ twin boys, suddenly disappears as if he’d been spirited away, time stops for the family until years later, when the remaining twin returns to the Jizo festival. Working cleverly with gaps in the narrative, Kawase evokes her characters’ feelings through stunning and resounding images. 2003, Japan, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles, 100 minutes.

This program is copresented with the Institute for Advanced Study Film Collaborative and the Consortium for the Study of the Asias, University of Minnesota.