A man comes down a mountain while a huge fire burns out behind him. He comes across an ox, which he takes home. The animal becomes his loyal companion, and together they resolutely plow the land, battered by extreme rainstorms and ever-changing seasons. The story is based on ten Japanese drawings from Zen Buddhism that depict the path to enlightenment and spiritual awakening.
A sometimes quiet but never boring film, captured in stunning black-and-white imagery. Long, contemplative thought provoking periods are interspersed with deafening bursts of rainstorms and even a volcanic eruption. You don’t need to understand everything to be mesmerized by this film.
- direction
- Tetsuichirô Tsuta
- cast
- Kang-sheng Lee, Min Tanaka
- duration
- 114 min
- year
- 2024
- country
- Japan
- language
- Japanese
- Subtitles
- English
festival
Regisseur
"A mountain man loses his bond with nature in this strange yet stunning portrait of modernity in the shadow of the Meiji Restoration." − IndieWire