• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

Introduction

Japan, Malaysia, Philippines / 2024 / 102 min
Director：Janus VICTORIA

Yoji is a divorced Japanese salaryman living alone in Tokyo. After the loss of his caring mother, he faces an empty life without any meaningful relationship. A chance encounter with Minerva, a Filipina who works as a caregiver in Japan to support her daughter, prompts Yoji to look at his situation in a new light. Meanwhile, he discovers the decomposing body of an elderly neighbor, whose name he doesn’t know. His death is ruled to be a lonely death. Not wanting to suffer the same fate, Yoji throws caution and follows Minerva to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The film, which began as an exploration of the Japanese phenomenon of lonely deaths, is the winner of 2013 Talents Tokyo (then Talent Campus Tokyo) and writer-director Janus Victoria's first feature film. Lily Franky, who never misses a glowing performance in any film, has an outstanding presence here, and the images by veteran cinematographer Ashizawa Akiko gorgeously project the ambience of Japan and the Philippines.

note