A troubled, enigmatic amnesiac, Hiroshi(Tadanobu Asano), who lost his memory and beloved Ryôko(Nami Tsukamoto)in an accidental car crash, discovers that the one he's assigned to dissect in his medical class is her! Ikumi(Kiki), whose adulterous lover and medical professor committed suicide after she rejected his love towards her, desires Hiroshi but finds that he is overwhelmed by Ryôko's memory. Ryôko's memory unravels in Hiroshi's mind as he continues to dissect, articulate on paper every vital organ, and study her..it seems that, through this type of thorough examination, he can feel emotionally whole. There's this place he goes where Ryôko exists(imagine an ideal, idyllic beach setting or inside a forest whose beautiful, lush trees stretch endlessly towards the sky for miles)that feels so real, but it's a fabrication he will have to return from. This unhealthy obsession develops which engulfs his life..he grows more and more distant from the outside world as Ryôko takes center stage. It seems that Hiroshi was partaking in a form of sexual strangulation with Ryôko that he now continues with Ikumi, but when doing such a dangerous thing he seems to travel to the place where he's the most happy..where Ryôko awaits and wishes for him to stay. Everyone around Hiroshi are disturbed at his obsession with Ryôko's body as he often continues his dissecting work into the night causing discomfort towards the students assigned to her(he often harasses them by staring, charging at them when they clown around, or causes intense pressure when they seem to mess up)and the professors who believe he's too attached. By the time the class is over, only Ikumi remains there and that's because she loves him in an unhealthy way..it's as if she is competing, and losing, with a dead woman clinging to the hope Hiroshi will snap out of it. The question is, how do you let go when you are that close to someone? When that spirit of someone feels and seems to real that you wish to stay right where they are, how can one truly escape that? When life outside of Ryôko doesn't even have that same passion and joy, why would Hiroshi wish to leave her side?
You know, this is a beautiful, challenging, and ultimately rewarding film about somehow letting go of the person you love when their memory comes rushing back to you. That overwhelming desire to hold them, love them, cherish them, and just cling them..I think, through this unusual and unique premise, that we experience those things through Hiroshi. Director Shinya Tsukamoto is quite multi-talented..he was in control of writing this very elusive work, editing it which wildly swings from reality into the fantasy created by the character Hiroshi, and beautifully photographing it. It's a stunning film, very moody and visually rich. The film does have very odd behavior by the central characters, mainly Hiroshi and Ikumi, who are dealing with their own obsessions and violent emotional tendencies and Tsukamoto doesn't hold back peering into their dementia. But, yet, despite their forays into the bizarre, this is still a very sad and effective tale of loss & acceptance that I found quite spellbinding. Very good performances from the male actors who played the fathers of Hiroshi and Ryôko, both deeply mournful of the loss of a young girl whose death was too soon.
You know, this is a beautiful, challenging, and ultimately rewarding film about somehow letting go of the person you love when their memory comes rushing back to you. That overwhelming desire to hold them, love them, cherish them, and just cling them..I think, through this unusual and unique premise, that we experience those things through Hiroshi. Director Shinya Tsukamoto is quite multi-talented..he was in control of writing this very elusive work, editing it which wildly swings from reality into the fantasy created by the character Hiroshi, and beautifully photographing it. It's a stunning film, very moody and visually rich. The film does have very odd behavior by the central characters, mainly Hiroshi and Ikumi, who are dealing with their own obsessions and violent emotional tendencies and Tsukamoto doesn't hold back peering into their dementia. But, yet, despite their forays into the bizarre, this is still a very sad and effective tale of loss & acceptance that I found quite spellbinding. Very good performances from the male actors who played the fathers of Hiroshi and Ryôko, both deeply mournful of the loss of a young girl whose death was too soon.