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
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
Sasha Waters' documentary takes us through the life of America's best-selling late twentieth century poet, a private woman who shared her innermost thoughts and made them indispensable.
Schindler Space Architect
RM Schindler is now recognized as one of the most important modernist architects of the era, the man who laid the groundwork for what is now considered the epitome of California indoor-outdoor living. This doc sheds light on a previously unsung genius.
VIFF+ Members' Early Bird Day Screening: Late Fame
Join us at the VIFF Centre on August 6 for a free VIFF+ members-only screening of Late Fame! Catch up with your fellow cinema fans and hear from VIFF's Director of Programming. Not a member? You can join now!
Crash
Sex drive, David Cronenberg-style. The car-crash fetishists who orbit Cronenberg's metrosexual Toronto (they include James Spader, Holly Hunter, and Deborah Unger) obsessively seek a fusion of metal and flesh... Fender bender as the ultimate orgasm.
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)