Ritual (2000)

A disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young girl who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera

Director:

Hideaki Anno

Writers:

Hideaki Anno (screenplay), Ayako Fujitani (novel)

Stars:

Shunji Iwai, Ayako Fujitani, Jun Murakami

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Shunji Iwai	...	Director
Ayako Fujitani	...	She
Jun Murakami	...	Bicycle man
Shinobu Ôtake	...	Her mother
Suzuki Matsuo	...	Man (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara	...	Woman (voice)

Storyline

A disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young girl who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera

---

Plot Keywords:

bathtub | umbrella | train tracks | filmmaker | based on novel | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

7 December 2000 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Ritual

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio Kajino Company, Tokuma Shoten

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shiki-jitsu is based on the autobiographical nouvella "Tohimu" written by Ayako Fujitani (who plays the leading role).

User Reviews

Hideaki Anno Grows Up

Ritual is without a doubt one of my favorite films of all time. Interestingly its from a from a very unexpected director.

I had seen Evangelion a few years back and thought it lacked maturity and was way too pretentious for its own good. I had heard some good things about Anno's live action work but didn't pursue it until some of my friends online came across this film and loved it.

This is the film where all the talent I thought Anno was capable of in Evangelion springs to life. This film has some of the most stunning photography I've seen, the performances are spot on, the writing is a tad on the pretentious side, but still feels very personal and is very much the voice of the director in his jaded post-anime days.

The film is subtle, beautiful and very creative. Its full of wonderful camera-work and cinematography that have a polish and subtlety lacking in his other work. If I had to complain about one thing I'd say that it drags a bit around the 1:45 mark.

One thing that surprised me about the acting is that Fujitani is actually Stephen Segal's daughter, showing that their is some acting talent in that family...

Its a real shame that Anno took a step backwards with his next film Cutey Honey (2004), because here is a film where one gets to see the beginnings of a brilliant auteur - I hope Anno directs something of this caliber again. (particularly if its animated, animation needs less trash and more art on the par with Isao Takahata's work) If you didn't care for Anno's anime work but thought he had talent I'd highly recommend checking this film out.