Joy of Man's Desiring

(Hitono nozomino yorokobiyo, 人の望みの喜びよ)

After a huge earthquake strikes Japan, young siblings Haruna (Ayane Omori) and Shota (Riku Ohishi) are left orphaned and homeless. Haruna is left traumatised by witnessing her parents’ death, while younger Shota is oblivious to the fact that they are no longer coming back. Soon Haruna and Shota are taken in by a relative, but even with a new house and new family, little can fill the void left by the parents and no one, including Haruna, can tell Shota the awful truth.

Director Masakazu Sugita, himself a survivor of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, crafts a tender and humane story focusing on orphans affected by natural disasters – a topic he decided to tackle following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. Sugita’s poetic and tranquilly shot debut film received Special Mention at the 64^th Berlin International Film Festival, as well as being nominated for the Best First Feature Award in 2014.

2014/85 min/English Subtitles

人の望みの喜びよ

大震災で両親を失った幼い姉弟。親戚の家に引き取られた2人だが、5歳の弟は両親の死を知らされずにいた。姉の春奈は弟に秘密を持つこと、両親を助けられなかったことに罪悪感を感じ続ける。自分の無力を思い知らされる出来事に遭遇しながらも現実に向かい合い、それを乗り越えていく少女の姿を描いた人間ドラマ。本作は監督が10代で経験した阪神大震災の記憶を基に作られた。

監督: 杉田真一
出演: 大森絢音、大石稜久、大塲駿平

(Special thanks to Eikoku News Digest)