World Premiere
Ryuichi Hiroki’s film is shot through with the spirit of Greek tragedy. It’s the story of Rumiko (Erika Toda), who dearly loves her mother Hanae (Mao Daichi) but is unable to feel the same way about her daughter Sayaka (Mei Nagano). Told from both Rumiko and Sayaka’s perspectives, Motherhood parses the psychology of both women, laying bare the fractures that prevent affection from passing down through the family lineage. It’s a sad story, but one that has room in it for compassion and tenderness amid the harshness.
Shooting in widescreen, Hiroki displays a peculiar but very evocative sensibility; at times, his film takes on a dollhouse-like aesthetic of ordered, brittle beauty. He’s a terrific director of actors, drawing a different portrait of frustrated passion from each lead performer. We’re used to assuming that parent and child must love each other, at least in some way; Motherhood is brave enough to question that assumption and powerful enough to call forth the deepest sympathy.
Q&A Oct 5
Media Partner
Erika Toda, Mei Nagano, Masaki Miura, Yuri Nakamura, Rio Yamashita, Atsuko Takahata, Mao Daichi
Japan
2022
In Japanese with English subtitles
Self Harm
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Baltimorons
An early Xmas present and the rom-com of the year: a dental emergency on Christmas Eve brings together flailing comedian Chris and cynical divorcee Didi for a series of low-key urban misadventures.
You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine
A remarkable line up of artists come together to share their love for the great American singer-songwriter John Prine, including Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Kurt Vile and Kasey Musgraves.
The Secret Agent
Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.
Cutting Through Rocks
Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.
Credits
Producer
Tatsuhiko Taniguchi, Shunsuke Koga, Yasushi Minatoya
Screenwriter
Anne Horiizumi
Cinematography
Atsuhiro Nabeshima
Editor
Minoru Nomoto
Production Design
Tomoyuki Maruo
Original Music
Kotringo
Director
Ryuichi Hiroki
Ryuichi Hiroki’s breakthrough into mainstream film came with his 1994 feature 800 Two Lap Runners, which opened at the Berlin International Film Festival. That same year, he won a scholarship to the Sundance Film Festival and went to the United States. In 2003, Hiroki won numerous awards at more than 40 international film festivals in Japan and abroad, including the Best Director Award for his feature film Vibrator at the 25th Yokohama Film Festival.
Filmography: The Egoists (2011); Marmalade Boy (2018); It’s Boring Here, Pick Me Up (2018); Phases of the Moon (2022)