Haruharasan no uta

Ein Tanka, ein haikuähnliches japanisches Gedicht, gibt dem Film den Titel, der folglich auf einen zielgerichteten Plot verzichtet. Vielmehr gruppiert er alles um eine Figur im Zentrum, Sachi, die gerade umgezogen ist und in einem Café zu arbeiten begonnen hat. An ihr docken die Themen und Motive des Films an – es wird viel gegessen, fotografiert, nach dem Weg gefragt – und verschränken sich mit jahreszeitlichen Emblemen japanischer Poesie: der Kirschblüte, dem Lärm der Zikaden. In Sachis Begegnungen mit Freunden, Fremden, gar Verstorbenen freilich lässt sich eine innere seelische Bewegung dennoch erahnen, deutet sich verhalten eine Entwicklung an. (Barbara Kronsfoth)

In Anwesenheit von Kyoshi Sugita.

HARUHARASAN NO UTA is based on a tanka by Japanese poet Higashi Naoko: “Gazing Upon / the Address Unknown stamp / The recorder / Played by Mr Haruhara”. A true believer that cinema happens in the present tense, Kyoshi Sugita constructs his films within the tension that this entails, whereby the past casts as big a shadow as the future. Like in the poem, time is both fleeting and enduring in this film, as objects function as signs of a former life while being removed from it in a new present existence. How to build a scene that will have this effect? One way the film finds is to be based not on information, but rather on movement and on concrete actions that will let us observe the depths of a relationship, many times out of context. No one says “take care” here, but they take care of one another with tenderness. No one says “this is beautiful”, but beauty is all around them like a gift. There is a little story that goes with the film, a beloved person has died and our hero has moved to a new home, there is a ghost that goes with her almost everywhere, there is indeed a recorder, a little plastic flute that will be most helpful for farewells. And there is an actress, Chika Araki, who makes it all happen. (Lucía Salas)

In the presence of Kyoshi Sugita.

Sugita Kyoshi: HITOTSU NO UTA (2011), KAWA NO KOIBITO (2016), LISTEN TO LIGHT (2017)