Part of the 2023 season: Always Evolving
Hold Me Back
Watashi wo kuitomete, 私をくいとめて
Director OHKU Akiko
Cast Non, HAYASHI Kento, USUDA Asami
2020, 133 min, English Subtitles
Thirty-one–year-old Mitsuko (Non) is, on the surface, enjoying her solo life. She cooks for herself, dines on her own, goes to the spa alone, and visits her friend in Italy all by herself. But she is not as alone as you may think. She has her own adviser in her head with whom she often holds conversations: ‘A’ (voiced by NAKAMURA Tomoya). A provides Mitsuko with answers when she feels insecure. It seemed that her peaceful single life with A will continue unchanged until she falls in love with Tada (HAYASHI Kento), a young salesman. Mitsuko decides to take a step forward together with her inner A. Will she be able to break out of her comfort zone of being alone?
Based on a novel by WATAYA Risa, this film portrays the life of the ever-growing unmarried solos in Tokyo. Gaining sympathy from the large singles community both inside and outside of Japan, this award-winning film handles the hidden loneliness of a young woman in Japanese contemporary society with a humorous tone.
© 2020 “Hold Me Back” Film Partners
Past screenings
- Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Wednesday 8 February, 20:15
- Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Saturday 11 February, 15:20
- Plymouth Arts Cinema Thursday 16 February, 20:30
- Brewery Arts Cinema Friday 3 March, 19:00
- Cinema City Monday 6 March, 18:15
- Dundee Contemporary Arts Wednesday 15 March, 20:15
If you like this you may like the following
All films in this season
Angry Son
BL Metamorphosis
Blue Thermal
Goodbye Cruel World
Hold Me Back
Intolerance
It Comes
Ito
Joint
Lesson in Murder
My Broken Mariko
SAMURAI HUSTLE
Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me?
The Million Ryo Pot
The Past is Always New, the Future is Always Nostalgic: Photographer Daido Moriyama
The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue
Till We Meet Again
Tsuyukusa
Under the Open Sky
Wandering
What a Wonderful Family!



Tsuyukusa
My Broken Mariko
The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue