Kôji Fukada	...	(Director)
	...	(Writer)
Mariko Tsutsui	...	Ichiko
Mikako Ichikawa	...
Sôsuke Ikematsu	...
Kentez Asaka	...	Reporter
Mitsuru Fukikoshi	...
Ren Sudo	...

Comments: "This is getting dodgy!"

Mariko Tsutsui, the woman on the poster, is sixty years old. Unbelievable. In this film she runs around on her hands and feet, barking like a dog, smelling fire hydrants. Try that some time.

This is the "Girl" version of Fukada's peculiar take on the home invasion/revenge flick. So there's no violence, and home is where the heart is. If you enjoyed Tsutsui's off-the-charts performance in Harmonium, watch this just for her.

If you focus on everything in the film that works, it's pretty good. Fukada's kind of a clunky film maker, though, and there are several clunks here. Each one of them takes too much wind outta the sails to just brush away. And it's a pity that one of these clunks is the ending (not mention there is some question as to how many characters it's for--which is completely unnecessary).

Fukada is chasing some interesting ideas with these home invasion/revenge flicks, and he's willing to go to some very uncomfortable places, and he's got a great muse of an actor in Mariko Tsutsui, but he gets in over his head plotting these things out, imo.

I want more of Au Revoir L’Ete's simplicity from him.


Summary: Ichiko is a care-giver and a nurse. She provide home-care to the Oishos' elderly woman and is almost considered part of the family as she visits and performs her tasks routinely. What is more, Ichiko is helping Oisho Motoko to also become a care-giver and potentially replace her one day. The two have become close, which is useful when Motoko's sister Saki disappears. She is returned safely one week later, but the kidnapper is too close to home.