Bare Essence of Life

"The darling of new Japanese cinema, Satoko Yokohama confirms her talent and brilliant originality with Bare Essence of Life, a satisfying tale of rural eccentricity that combines black humour and fantasy with romanticism and drama. Scripted and directed by Yokohama with self-assured grace, the film strays from both the commercial mainstream and the independent art-house cinema to find its own path. An opening shot pans along a colourful world of disparate objects and several alarm clocks all about to ring and awaken Yojin (Kenichi Matsuyama) to another glorious morning. Following the offbeat pace of his strange thoughts and even stranger outbursts of vitality, the film chronicles the mentally challenged young farmer as he daily tends his.