©2009「ウルトラミラクルラブストーリー」製作委員会

Director: Satoko YOKOHAMA
Cast: Kenichi MATSUYAMA, Kumiko ASO, Seiji NOZOE, ARATA, Yumiko FUJITA, Yoshio HARADA, Misako WATANABE
Distributor: Little More Co., Ltd.

2009 / Japan / 120min.
The film will be screened in 35mm print.

 

The quirky Yojin Mizuki lives and farms alone in remote Aomori, until he falls in love for the first time with Machiko, a nursery school teacher from Tokyo. One day something happens to Yojin’s body while he plays in the fields that triggers a sequence of unbelievable situations. Bare Essence of Life is the commercial debut of director Satoko Yokohama, recipient of numerous awards including the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for German Plus Rain (06). Kenichi Matsuyama—who, like the director, is also from Aomori—won best leading actor accolades at both the Mainichi Film Awards and the Takasaki Film Festival for his performance as Yojin. The film features several young actors, including Kumiko Aso as Machiko, Seiji Nozoe (who leads the Haegiwa theater company) as Yojin’s childhood friend, and Arata as Machiko’s ex-boyfriend, with support from veterans Misako Watanabe, Yoshio Harada, and Yumiko Fujita. The film is also deeply committed to an authentic depiction of Aomori and the local dialect of Tsugaru, and features a host of local child and adult actors in vividly portraying director Yokohama’s own unique perspective on the world.