JOURNEY TO THE SHORE (KISHIBI NO TABE)
CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA D: Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Japan/France. 128 min. Sep 16, 9:45pm Scotiabank 10 Sep 18, noon AGO Sep 20, 9:30 pm Scotiabank 13. See listings. Rating: NNNN
Three years after his disappearance, Yusuke (Tadanobu Asano) returns to his wife, Mizuki (Eri Fukatsu), as a ghost, inviting her to accompany him on a mysterious trip.
Director/co-writer Kurosawa, whose career has ranged from the unnerving horror of Cure to the tender family study Tokyo Sonata, delivers a truly gentle ghost story, almost mundane in its presentation of supernatural events. (It turns out ghosts take the bus a lot.)
Journey To The Shore follows the reunited couple as Yusuke shows Mizuki where he’s been and who he’s met, slowly allowing her to understand why he vanished and what became of him. It’s remarkably unsentimental, which makes its gathering emotional weight all the more effective.
