Studio kajino presents
once upon a time
returning to my hometown
the 1st day 30 days remain
Do you sell cigarettes?
We don't carry them
I'm sorry
Out of cigarettes?
Yeah
Thanks
Ritual
It's a ritual
Oh, before? By the tracks?
Yes, I was performing a ritual
Oh... sorry I intruded then
What's it for?
It's a secret!
Do you know what tomorrow is?
No
Tomorrow's
my
birthday
ritual
the 2nd day 29 days remain
I'm still swirling
It's a dark, lonely place
I thought you could maybe rescue me
somehow, I still feel that way
Unsure what to do
I'm moved by the scent of rain
Thanks for those smokes
And...
Happy Birthday
No!
Tomorrow's my birthday
the 3rd day 28 days remain
The simple act of pursuing her
was sufficient
Having reached an impasse in my work and in myself,
I sought to acquaint myself
with everyday ennui, sired by apathy and restlessness
Ever-fleeing the authenticity of my own experience,
I was entirely spent by a life,
composed of accumulated fictions
Um...
are you always alone?
Not today
Yesterday?
Not really
Tomorrow?
I'd rather not be
I'd rather not be alone either
say,
do you know today's date?
Monday
Yesterday?
Sunday
Tomorrow?
Tuesday
Did you perform your ritual today?
Yes It will make my wish come true
Your wish?
When my wish comes true, I can disappear completely
Disappear, leaving nothing in the world behind
That's why I have to keep performing the ritual
Until then, the red umbrella protects me
say,
what's tomorrow?
Can't you figure it out?
Tomorrow is my birthday
And so...
I'd rather not be alone
the 4th day 27 days remain
Um...
What?
Why did you follow me, that first day?
Why are you following me now?
Well... because you intrigue me
Same here, then
This your place?
Yup
Here?
My unsound heart
and the consuming loneliness
of longing for someone
Perhaps anyone will do
As long as that someone
will love me
constantly, ceaselessly,
it will suffice
“Is this true love?”
“I feel at ease with you”
“We're compatible”
I ponder such ideas everyday
Sick
Dad and Morn are sick
Everybody's sick
And I'm...
sickest of all
What's wrong?
Maybe I shouldn't have come
It's not that
No one's stood there before...
I mean, it's unusual
So I felt strange
Strange? Do I look weird?
No, not at all You look just right
Like my room?
Probably
I like it
Because only my favorite things are here
Including me?
Yup You're one of the gang
I'm OK here
I like coming back here
I'm home, mother
Listen, your sister...
You listening?
She never listened to her mother
It's too late for regrets now!
Listen to me, or you'll end up like your sister!
Both of you share that man's blood
Guess it's hopeless
I've had it! Where are you!
Not with that man again
I won't stand for it!
Will you ever...
Pick up the phone and call me!
All right, all right, I get it
I worked myself to the bone to raise you
and now you abandon me
At least your sister had a heart
How infuriating!
Listen,
you keep up this selfish behavior
and you'll pay for it
I swear you will
You, you, you...
How dare you talk to me that way
Your father tortured me, doing whatever he wanted
And now my own daughter hates me so much!
What's the point of living...
I'll get out of the hospital tomorrow,
and it's your birthday, too
Please Won't you come home
Sure
Know what tomorrow is?
Probably, your birthday, right?
That's right So let's play together again
I don't want to be alone on my birthday
the 5th day 26 days remain
What are you doing?
Rainy days are days for my father and sister
They're both dead
And tomorrow's my birthday...
No doubt for her, the truth
is only an enemy that wounds her
The days of her life pass in loneliness, a darkness without exit
I longed to ease her sadness and anxiety, if only a little
Even if only to atone for my own past
Can I be with you?
Yeah
Know what tomorrow is?
Tomorrow's your birthday
the 6th day 25 days remain
The time is
5:59 AM
and
30 seconds
The time is
5:59 AM
and
40 seconds
The time is
5:59 AM
and
50 seconds
The time is exactly
6AM
The time is
6AM
and 10 seconds
Good morning!
I'm going to
give you a tour of my house
First,
this is,
the secret 4th floor
And this...
This is Lucy
The secret...
3rd floor
And this is...
the secret
2nd floor
And this is...
the secret
1st floor
There's a basement
No!
That's absolutely secret! You can't go in there!
And this is...
the secret
5th floor
And this is
the secret
What?
6th floor
And this is
the secret
7th floor!
Why are they all secret?
Because...
They're our secret
And finally...
This is
the secret
roof!
These... stairs... I'm beat
Getting old...
You like high places?
Not really
I do
Sometimes, I come here to check
Check what?
That I'm still OK
The sky is pretty
The stars are pretty
The moon is pretty
The light is pretty
If I don't exist,
everything's pretty
Maybe it's better if I didn't exist
How about my blood?
Maybe it's pretty
Maybe I'll look
See, I'm still OK
I didn't let go
Still OK to be alive
A blank-faced mosquito falls
A huge mosquito
Much, much bigger than I
It slumps and is still
A much larger creature caught it
and took flight, the mosquito in its grasp
It flew up and passed right over me
But it released its grasp and the mosquito fell
Still blank
It drifted down, down, down
What's that?
The inside of my head
Such an interesting head
It's your turn
to talk
About what?
Something
Something, huh
Anything I want to hear you talk
You know fireman?
No
Well, when I was a kid,
he was like UltraMan
His enemies attack him and in the end, he dies
He ignites
So he dies
fireman ends up burning
He yells “Fire!” but actually he's afraid of fire...
Maybe he's fireman 'cause he burns
But that wasn't what you wanted
I don't really get it, but it's interesting
That's what she says, but I wonder...
Actually, all she wanted was to hear someone's voice
Actually, all she wanted was to stop feeling lonely
Know what tomorrow is?
Your birthday, right?
Echoes from the
creaking arcade roof opening and an all too ordinary sky
disturbed my ease
Can I see you tomorrow?
If I'm still alive
the 7th day 24 days remain
You like cars?
Not so well as boats and trains,
but well enough
I like 'em
Cars
Why?
Because my big sister did
Where were you?
I was back at the hotel getting my things
That stuff
No, I mean where were you 'til now
I took my usual route here,
the bookstore, department store,
and the toy store today
No
I mean where were you before you came here!
Oh... Tokyo
Why'd you come?
What? I wanted to think things over
I was kind of tired
Tough time?
Well, there was a lot going on
But really, it was all about nothing
You're just like my mother
Mother always said life is full of tough times
Must be a wrong number
No cell phone calls today?
Yeah, the deal's already done
What are you doing?
What? Nothing...
My usual work exhausts me
So I'm keeping my distance
Actually, I wanted to make live action films, too
Live action films, films
Films?
Films...
Why don't you? Why not? You should
From now on, you're “Director”
I'll call you Director
Director...
Cut it out
Cheers
I want blue, the blue one
This? This blue?
Ready, go
Hey, you cheated
It stopped
Say, say
say,
Know what tomorrow is?
Tomorrow? Tomorrow's your birthday
You got that right,
Director
the 8th day 23 days remain
I'm still OK today
I'm finished
Yes, yes, I start shooting today
but there's no telling...
Yes, yeah
An outline by...
Reel 1
Rolling
I'm rolling
I'm shooting you
Say something
She seems to have escaped
Does my outfit look OK?
Is it right for the film?
Sure, I think it looks fine
I don't know much about clothes
I'm not up on clothes
It's cute
Are you shooting...
It's moving
Happy?
Happy on the train?
Happy on the train with you
I've never been here
The unknown
Yeah, it's exciting
The streetcar is a perfect means of escape from the tedium of my days
The scenery flows by cinematically The sound effects are punctual
My fantasy about her expands
I won't be bored for some time
Our idle routine, the days I spend with her, like a lukewarm bath,
her faint smile, all seem to agree with me
Each day, a countdown towards death
I dare not risk negligence
All the more reason to film her, I think
Images, especially animation,
simply embody our personal and collective fantasies,
manipulating selected information, and fictional constructs
Even live-action film, recording actuality, does not correspond to reality
Conversely, reality, co-opted by fiction, loses its value
“The inversion of reality and fiction”
None of this matters to me anymore
My consciousness, my reality,
my subject, all converge in her
Certainly, she longs to escape into fantasy
Certainly, I long to escape from fantasy
I wanted to keep a visual record of these contradictory phenomena
But, my behavior is really no more than an excuse
for my inability to communicate except through images
This is the way to the mystery basement
No trespassing Because the camera is prohibited,
I cannot show you anymore Your pardon
Outside circumstances
force me to omit the 1st through the 7th floors
Next, the roof
So, this is the roof
Wow, it's high...
This is where she always
checks herself
You know what tomorrow is?
Yeah, your birthday, right?
Each day, she postpones the morrow, by transforming today to yesterday
A typical day in her life
the 9th day 22 days remain
She never goes to sleep before dawn
But awakening before 6AM, she dials and listens to the time
As far as I can tell, she hardly sleeps at all
You'll die
Hey , go to sleep!
Aren't you sleepy? Don't you want to sleep?
I'm scared to sleep
When I close my eyes
and sleep, something really heavy seems to crush my head
I push it away and away and away, but it keeps bearing down
I can't avert my eyes
And so I don't sleep
I faint
But I like tomorrow coming
Because tomorrow...
You know what tomorrow is?
Your birthday, right?
Terrified to face the truth, she rejects even sleep
Not that there is actual truth in the ambiguity of human memory
Her best and only means of survival depends on her
destruction and renewal of memory
Certainly many more days bear forgetting than joyful commemoration
What is it that I want from her?
You'd better get some sleep You're shooting again tomorrow...
the 10th day 21 days remain
Again, today, I record her image
Because I find in the act of capturing her being
according to my own will, for my own purpose, relief from my own life
Images transform my real past into fiction
Each of us edits and alters our memories
By giving form and existence to this process through images,
I reinvent my past, whitewashing it,
into an idealized history
Re-creating the present as something invulnerable,
as a world of fiction and fantasy
We are the same Only our methods differ
Look what I found
What's that, throw it away
Do you read this stuff too?
No I don't
I don't
Liar
I am not
Why not?
Well, I read the softer stuff
You do read it Disgusting
Like Playboy, or whatever
“Females drowning in their lust, coming wherever they please...”
Don't read it
“Normal sex doesn't do it”
Stop it
“The nymphomaniacs who lust for kinky settings”
Cut it out It's embarrassing
Throw it away
It's dirty
You like this stuff too
What can I say
It says, vavoom
No!
You like it
No, they're too big
You do like it
Do you like sex?
Well, all men like sex
And you, Director?
Well, the Director neither likes nor dislikes...
I don't dislike it...
So you do like it
I don't like it
'Cause if you do,
you're no more than male and female
Just like everybody else
So I hate it!
I really hate it!
A Kumoha 42 street car
The type: 20 meters with driver's seat
Two doors and benches on either side
Semi-cross seats perpendicular to the floor
Street car color, Grape #2
Capacity 104, 68 sitting, 36 standing
Weight: 45 tons Built in 1933
These two cars are the only ones of this type still operating in Japan
Wait a minute
Hello
Yeah, in Ube
Yeah, I'm shooting
I can't tell whether it's any good or not
I'll email you an outline when I'm done
Tell me what you think
Yeah, sounds good Sure
It's from a woman again Dirty Director!
No, it's not like that
Lucky you
At least once a day you get to talk to someone
It's not like that
I don't care who it is At least someone calls you
Want it?
Give it back
Here
That night, her smile disappeared
with the falling rain
Hey, you OK?
I'm coming in
It'll rain tomorrow
What are you doing!
Tomorrow's my birthday!
The 11th day 20 days remain
Today is
my father and sister's day
I like rainy days
Because when it rains,
all the merry people in the world finally walk with their eyes downcast
That's why I like rain!
The rain she loves
What she keeps bottled up on sunny days,
flows as from a broken darn when it rains
Her feelings of loneliness Sorrow
These emotions elevate her,
preventing her from engaging in a certain behavior
And...
engendering her complex reactions to the phenomenon called rain
What is the sadness that she harbors?
No doubt the deaths in her family
In this moment I acknowledge
yet again, that in her heart, she yearns
to cease existing
the 12th day 19 days remain
A brand new
morning's here
A morning of hope
Open your heart with joy
Look up at the sky
Open your vibrant heart
to the song on the radio
to the fragrant breeze
NOW, 1, 2, 3...
I'm OK again today
Having something to hold onto when you're scared
is good enough in itself
And this is my
secret
ritual space
It always has to be flooded
It's a really sacred place
But as of today, it's open
The Director can come and go Video camera OK
Not the other one?
This one's cooler
An umbrella here
Umbrella
Don't you need it?
As of today... this
What's that?
A videocamera
Matching
Did you ever have fun?
A hesitant reply isn't a good sign, is it?
OK then...
A favorite place?
Favorite place... This sort of place isn't bad...
I loved the desert
The desert?
Desert
A simple place with only sand and sky
Really beautiful
But it was beautiful because it was unpopulated
No humans there to warp it
A beautiful world without people
That sounds lovely
Like railroad tracks?
What? Yeah
Why?
Well...
How shall I put it... Because they are mechanical
And then rails are fixed, right?
As long as you ride them you needn't choose a path
Perhaps that's a relief
And you?
I like them
Why?
Because these two rails
will never come together
And yet,
the two are one
That's why!
They left me
Abused and then abandoned
I tried everything
but my fear made me tremble
The magical powers of a pair of dice
still sway me
undiminished
If only one day I could say
I'm so glad I met you
I hum to myself
My umbrella! My umbrella!
If I died in your place
How would the skies part
How would the wind flow
Beneath the steps of that dark red space
you used that sharp stick
and struck my bursting...
over and over...
It's no good, I can't write
Hopeless
Maybe time to give it up
What'll I do if I quit
What do you think I'd...
Oh, sorry I'll call you back
Hey, what are you doing?
The 13th day 18 days remain
Today, she didn't venture near the roof,
or to the railroad tracks
She never attempted to leave the room
Tomorrow's my birthday
Be happy
She never discussed what frightened her,
what she wanted to escape
She no longer saw anyone but herself
I no longer exist inside of her
That day passed without our exchanging a single word,
a single glance, or lifting the camera to shoot
For I hadn't the courage to capture her like this
Her unrelenting oppressive reality
began to bear down on me as well
the 14th day 17 days remain
Unbeknownst to me, she had found a cat that day
Look mother, isn't this cat cute?
It's called Jam
Look, it's mother, mother
Our very, very kind mother
Let's say hello to her, Jam
You know what tomorrow is?
Tomorrow...
is my birthday
the 15th~19th day 16~12 days remain
Her ritual remained interrupted
Since that day, she hadn't climbed to the roof, or visited the tracks,
but played with the cat all day
Playing with the cat seemed to allow her to avoid herself
She still slept rarely, and now barely ate,
only played with the cat
Nothing else worth recording took place
Except that of course we neither spoke nor exchanged a glance
I remained locked outside her
Here, Jam!
Why don't you come
the 20th day 11 days remain
The cat slipped away that day
The photographer's dream
The writer's soul
The director's obsession
The actor's disease
Red cheeks
Swelling lips
Tightened strings
The human heart is fragile
and is easily captured
An evil song
drifting through the dark
envelopes the girl
You can eat this
Announcing,
My true mother's arrived
the girl dances
wildly, wildly
wildly
She never did come home that day
And suddenly
I noticed that I was somewhat relieved the cat had gone
the 21st day 10 days remain
Um...
the cat?
Mother
My mother was inside me
I've become my mother
Cut it out!
What are you doing!
Cut it out!
Calm down
Why! Why weren't you with me then!
Why!
Calm down!
It's your sound
It's beating away
A gentle sound...
I've never heard it before...
Don't go anywhere, OK?
Don't disappear like that, OK?
Don't ever leave me alone again, OK?
Promise
Because tomorrow's my birthday
Sure... OK
You have to be
with me on my birthday
Forever and ever, OK?
What are you thinking?
What? Oh, sorry
the 22nd day 9 days remain
For real!
Hey, hey, Wake up! Wake up!
It's past 6
No... hold on...
Don't climb
Up We go
Yup
OK?
Your heart says I'm OK
There... there...
Which line today?
Amusement park
I can handle this
Sorry, there's someone scary
Director! Monkeys!
Monkeys and goats
I made a huge discovery this morning
Guess what
I'm not scared to fall asleep anymore
Just because you were with me,
I could close my eyes just like that
And like,
I wasn't scared at all
Nothing came crashing down
Actually, my body felt really light
I could just sleep
This is amazing!
This is really amazing Do you understand what this means?
Amazing discovery!
Really
Great angle
The Wind's not so bad when I lie like this
You're right
Cuddling is nice, isn't it I like it
Yeah
In a way, I like this better
than that
Don't believe you
No, really
Huh, well then,
what do you like about it?
That it's warm
It's warm...
For me,
when I wake up in the middle of the night,
you're beside me
Your face is right there
It's so reassuring Amazing, isn't it?
I know what you mean
But your mouth's
always wide open and you drool
You... fool!
Ouch!
Can you make it?
All these used tires
look like people's ex-teeth
Let me shoot too
OK? I want to shoot, too
No, it won't be my film anymore
Who cares, c'mon
Let me, let me
This? This OK? Is it working?
Give it back
Say something
Don't shoot me
Why are you upset?
I'm not upset
Liar
It's true
Do I look upset?
You do
I am not upset
I wonder...
I'm tired lately
Tired?
Huh, I see
So what!
Want me to mother you?
Yes, please
OK, good boy, good boy
I'll mother you more
Will you mother me then?
I want a piggyback
Piggyback?
Yeah, piggyback
For real?
A two-shot
I'm dizzy
Dizzy
Know what tomorrow is?
Sure
That's right,
tomorrow's my birthday
Tomorrow's my birthday
Tomorrow's my birthday!
The 28th day 3 days remain
It's nearly a month since I met her
I'm fed up with the endless “yesterdays,”
and lulled by the “todays”
Anxious, too, that tomorrow may bring change
yet eagerly awaiting the change it may finally bring
What do I want from this reality I share with her?
The constancy of the past or the change of the future
However,
these were no more than idle doubts that shifted with my moods
You snore every night Sounds just like a hedgehog
These days will come to an end Eventually, I'll part with her
Even my life will end one day
All the more reason to treasure these slight, fleeting emotions
But the excess of boredom and the excess of intimacy
were simply exhausting me
And I realized that gradually the times that being with her
depressed me, outstripped the times
that I enjoyed it
Someday that'll happen to me
You know, today,
there was this blue car
in front of the shrine,
and this car, you know,
was really cute...
Hey, you listening? You listening?
I've gotten really good
Oh, it stopped
I'm off to the store
He hates me?
Hates me?
He hates me
Hates me, hates me, hates me!
I'll be left alone again
They left me
Abused and then abandoned
I tried everything
but my fear made me tremble
The magical powers of a pair of dice...
...still sway me
If only one day I could say
I'm so glad I met you
I hum to myself
Listen, your sister...
You listening?
She never listened to her mother
It's too late for regrets now!
Listen to me, or you'll end up like your sister!
Both of you share that man's blood
Guess it's hopeless
I've had it! Where are you!
Not with that man again
I won't stand for it!
Shut up, clueless!
You're so patronizing!
All you ever want is for me to be grateful!
Always, always, always
You're just patronizing me!
You don't even have a clue
what it is I really want! Not a clue!
How dare you!
You only remember what you gave me,
but not how you mistreated me
Right?
Or what, we're even-steven for all your troubles?
Go ahead and die! I won't care!
Shut up, shut up, shut up!
Why were you nice to me then?
Mother...
Why don't you answer
Her heart is overcome by a world
awash in cruelty, harshness, hatred and loneliness
But that is the way of the world
Each of us fears its absurdity, and curses it
And yet, the world is immeasurably vast,
and gentleness, mercy and empathy linger in our hearts
I desperately wanted her
to know this reality as well
Hello...
Hey, there
What's wrong
But her heart is so delicate, so vulnerable
Am I really capable of embracing
the endless darkness inside it?
Perhaps I'm incapable of accepting her...
I find myself enveloped in an anxiety I cannot shake
Today, again, I can do nothing
the 29th day 2 days remain
6 in the morning, she's back to her usual self
She's returned to her little world
constructed entirely
of her protections, denying the existence
of whatever can harm her
Except now she has chosen to rely on me
Yeah, it always sounds good
She begins another day of life, brimming with fantasy,
plastered in self-deception, sealed by oblivion
My own faint panic, “I've got to do something”
is futilely idle
What are you doing?
Nothing, work
Let's go outside then
Shoot your movie, that's your job, right?
Is that work?
It is your job
In Japan today, all forms of expression,
beginning with images, serve only
as either
time-killing entertainment for those without occupation,
or as momentary respite for those who are afraid of pain
People desire either real scandals amplified into rawness,
or,
the illusion of beautifully adapted fictions
It is true of me
Unable to create appropriate relationships
I escape into a fictional world, constructed on a fantasy of daily life
Even this film, when completed,
will become a device to deliver a certain amount of stimulation
devoid of surprises, and a measure of time spent in peace
Who wants images beyond that? Who needs them?
By then, I had abandoned her as a visual construct
I didn't want to film anything
As long as she was present, I didn't need to make a film
I had always been entranced with the idea of
being madly loved, and loving madly
And yet this was a stupendous burden, exhausting
Could I really bear it?
Long time...
So you were back
Hey, wait!
Wait, dammit!
What's that about?
I gotta go
Hey, don't bother
I said wait! Hey, hey!
Give it back, I know you've got it
Hey! You do, right!
No, I'm not my sister!
You're crazy!
Excuse...
You OK?
Hello
Sorry about that...
A reunion? Right now?
A toast to his triumphant return!
You forgot, right?
Oh... Sorry, sorry
Where were you?
And you?
Where were you!
With some woman?
No, what are you saying?
I was out drinking with my old friends
Liar, liar
It's the truth
Liar
And where were you
Liar!
I'm not lying It's the truth
There's nothing left
Nothing but your heartbeat
Ever kissed someone?
I have
Maybe I haven't ever
Have you ever killed someone?
No...
Maybe
In my head
Me too
You want sex?
If I have sex with you, will you stay forever?
Actually, you like it, right?
Much better than cuddling
You just put up with that, right?
You want to see and touch my breasts, right?
Then, have sex with me
But don't go anywhere
Don't abandon me
I'll do whatever you ask
Don't hate me
Don't start hating me
Ouch
No, no!
If I do this, I will become my sister...
I'll become my sister!
I'm... Still...
If I died in your place
How would the skies part
How would the wind flow
Beneath the steps of that dark red space
you used that sharpened stick
over and over
striking my
quivering lips
swollen to bursting
tasting
of sorrow and betrayal
That song
has left me
I peer back again and again
at that dreamlike state
Oh, hello Sorry, I'll call you back later
Hello
How unusual Calling at this hour
Cat got your tongue? Hello, hello...
What are you...
Come to bed
You read this?
Why...
What'd you think?
Why?
It's your movie
Because you have to?
Are you with me because you have to be for work?
No, that's not what I meant
Just like my father?
Just like my sister?
Just like my mother?
It doesn't matter if you don't like it
Am I worthless?
Do you hate me?
Are you going away?
Tell me you won't Tell me you won't
That woman on the phone...
You were just tempted when she called you, right?
What woman? She's nobody...
Irrelevant...
I can't hear you
I can't hear your heartbeat
There's one answer
Two answers
Three answers
How many answers?
What makes you like this...
the 30th day the day before
By 6 that morning, she had disappeared
Are you a friend of my sister's? You dating her?
Well, yes, something like that
Huh... That girl got a boyfriend...
Oh, sorry
I never thought she'd do it
Her sister appeared instead
Finally, she'd rejected even herself
It's none of my business, but be nice to her, OK?
Come to think of it, she always liked this kind of place
I feel sorry for her
Parents split up when she was young,
Father walked out on both of us
Wound up dead with the new woman
Did it rain on that day?
No, in a fire
A fire?
Yes, on her birthday
And, your mother?
A streetcar hit her
On her birthday, she'd always cry, Why did they leave me?
Our mother was a terrible person
She blamed anything bad on someone else
It was Dad's fault,
that woman's fault,
my sister's fault, my fault, the world's fault
It never occurred to her the fault might be hers
My poor sister She was always compared to me
She only heard nagging “Why can't you be like your sister?”
It was like she was no good
She must have suffered
I wonder how she'll ever learn to like herself
There's someone I'd like to see Corning?
None of your business, butt out
You...
New guy, huh... Must run in the family
Listen, out the crap
You only show up when it suits you
What's with that face? Same as last time?
Seen my cat?
Listen, you...
My cat, my cat, you know, Jam
No I don't How the hell would I know?
Liar, liar, liar, liar...
You deny attacking my little sister, too?
What are you talking about? You are her, not her sister
No I'm not
Your sister went away a long time ago
You ranted about killing her
I say I'm not
You were babbling some crap about how you killed her
No...
You do this to me all the time
You ask me to let you stay 'cause you got nowhere else,
then you split
Now it's about some cat!
You come wandering back ranting about a cat!
Don't mess with me!
Say something!
Goddammit!
After all I did for you!
You don't get it, do you!
What an idiot
Don't ever go again
What the...
I'm...
Oh, great
Being with you makes me crazy
Drives me nuts
You're crazy
Demented Both of you
Wanna be like your sister Well you already are
Sleep around, get knocked up,
spitting image of that sister you love
Huh!
I'm sick of you both
No...
Crazy, right?
HEY,
you pulling the same, “Go away” crap on him?
Sister!
Sister! Sister!
Your sister used to say...
“My own sister scares me”
Don't! Don't!
Why does it always have to be so damned dramatic
Forget it Give me back the ring, the ring
Don't touch me!
What!
How dare you “All I did for you” me!?
You never did a thing yourself!
My sister did everything!
Who do you think you are!
I've had it with you!
Stop...
Spit it out! You!
Please stop
Give back the ring!
Who you callin' stupid! Who doesn't get it!
Calm down
Let go!
I've had it!
Go away!
Get out of my life!
Give me a break
Sister, why were you with that guy?
That guy...
After you disappeared,
he came after me
Why did you have to go away?
But it's too bad
You pretended to like me, but you didn't
So God punished you
Be happy Be happy
Hello
Be happy Be happy
You had a phone call
Who?
It was... your mother
No...
She's still alive
I gotta kill her
It's not true, 'cause she's dead
It's not a lie
She's coming to see you tomorrow
Tomorrow? What for?
Don't know... Maybe she's worried about you
After all that?
After all...
She calls you all the time
Why'd you answer my phone?
Keep out of my business!
I'm sorry But it's what's best for you
Liar!
I'm not lying
Liar!
Go away! You go away, too!
Don't run away!
I'm not running!
You run away from everything you don't like, and wind up
in your own little world
Not true!
You just deny anything you don't like
Not true!
That's why you want everyone to go away!
Shut up! Cut the crap! You depress me!
Why are you still here? I told you to go...
Because I...
want to be with you
I...
like...
you...
Lies!
It's true I like you
You're lying just like everybody else
I like you
Liar!
I like you
Why are you so nice to me?
I wonder...
Let's go home
When I was little, my mother cursed my father
to drive him away
Mother's curse came to pass
and my father left
I tried hard
to keep her from driving me away
But she told me
Even though she never told my sister
It was my birthday
A red umbrella and red shoes
My mother bought them for me when we went shopping together
The first things that weren't my sisters hand-me-downs
They matched my mother's
But my mother threw them away
She called them old She didn't need them
When I saw that,
I thought, she'll do that to me one day
I'm scared of being alone
But I'm scared of mother, too
So I cursed everyone to drive them away
The curse will come to pass on my birthday
So my birthday always has to be tomorrow
But mother didn't go away
So I had to kill her in my head, over and over
But suddenly,
I realized that I had to leave
So I began dressing up
Tomorrow
would bring my
new and happy life
But I don't know
what to do about tomorrow
You never know about tomorrow
All we really know,
is that tomorrow we'll still be together
What do you say?
Want to try to see your mother?
The 31st day the day
You've been OK?
Leave me alone
I can't leave you alone
But you did
Your own mother leave you alone?
For a long time
I left you alone for a long time?
When did I leave you alone?
When did your mother leave you alone?
Ever since I was little,
you always left me alone...
You only cared for my sister
Excuse me
Did her sister pass away?
Is she still alive?
We are apart, but...
She worries about you, too
She called me the other day
We'd been out of touch
I'm sorry, it's not that
I left you alone
I was so busy thinking...
about myself, that maybe I didn't think about your feelings
Maybe I was difficult for a long time
Maybe I was no good
Always complaining, always getting angry
Maybe I never did anything for you
Maybe I only...
thought about myself
Maybe I couldn't really love you
Now...
What?
I really want you to come home
I know it's selfish...
I'm lonely
I know that's selfish of me
What about when I was lonely?
What about all those years when I was lonely!
All those...
You couldn't have cared less when I needed your love,
but now you're lonely, you come to get me!
I'm sorry, I'm sorry
What! After all this time, now you're lonely!
Is that what it is?
That's how it is...
That's how...
When I was lonely,
you just ignored me...
Now you...
Pm Go away! asking you, go away!
Just go... Just go...
Just go away, now!
I'm sorry
No!
I'm sorry, sorry, sorry
I'm sorry I'll be waiting
Just once, won't you come home?
Won't you come home just once? Please
I know...
Please come home...
I'm sorry
Mother!
Wake up from your dream?
Or is this part of your dream?
Are we still dreaming a dream?
But this is our reality... Your reality
Your birthday
will come, on the day
you were born
Smile,
please smile
Thank you
the 32nd day the day after
What day
is that?
December 7th
My birthday
the red hair I got from my mom
braided in two
swaying in the wind
why, why, I still don't know
calmly I stood up
scissors in hand
and cut off those braids
it was a sunny day
Shunji IWAI
the future had no meaning
Ayako FUJITANI
I was helpless, had no words
Jun MURAKAMI
but the scent of the way home
it was tender
Shinobu OTAKE
I can live
somebody was laughing
Suzuki MATSUO
it was a very sunny day
Megumi HAYASHIBARA
Chief Executive Producer Yasuyoshi TOKUMA
Executive Producer Toshio SUZUKI
with no more hair
Based on the novel, “TOUHIMU” by Ayako FUJITANI
I cut off my arms
Cinematographer Yuichi NAGATA
Production Designer Yuji HAYASHIDA
dancing, with my bloody arms
Sound Yasuo HASHIMOTO Kazunori SHIMIZU
without you
Editor Souichi UENO
there was nothing here
Costume Designer Sachiko ITO
Hair and Make-up Designer lsao TSUGE
but only the bright sun
Composer Takashi KAKO
it was a very sunny day
Theme Song “Raining”
couldn't even cry
Written, composed, performed by Cocco
the land had no limit
beauty surrounded me
I was singing
in a white dress
the line of people far away
I could've cried with a rain like today
it was a sunny day
the future had no meaning
I was helpless, had no words
but the scent of the way home
it was tender
I can live
somebody was laughing
it was a very sunny day
English subtitles by Linda HOAGLUND
A Tokuma Shoten Production
Producers Nozomu TAKAHASHI Miyuki NANRI
Written and Directed by Hideaki ANNO
beyond the 33rd day unknown