Dir. Pierre Földes
2022 | 100 mins | France, Luxembourg, Canada, The Netherlands
Amaury de Crayencour, Mathilde Auneveux, Arnaud Maillard

SHOWING TIMES:

• Sat 15 Apr: 3.30pm *
• Sun 16 Apr: 5.30pm
• Mon 17 Apr: 2pm
• Mon 17 Apr: 8.10pm
• Thu 20 Apr: 2pm
• Thu 20 Apr: 5.30pm *

Films with * will play with Descriptive Subtitles.

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Writer director, Pierre Földes delivers a dreamlike, fantasy film fuelled by the rich story telling of Haruki Murakami.

A lost cat, a giant talkative frog and a tsunami help a bank employee without ambition, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant to save Tokyo from an earthquake and find a meaning to their lives in the animated feature Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. Based on stories by acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Murakami (Drive My Car), the debut of composer Pierre Földes won the Jury Special Mention award at the renowned Annecy Animation Film Festival.

Tokyo, a few days after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Kyoko suddenly leaves her husband after spending five days in a row glued to unfolding earthquake footage on TV. Her helpless husband Komura takes a week’s leave from work and heads north to deliver a box and its unknown contents to two young women. His colleague Katagiri, a simple debt collector by profession and an awkward loner in life, returns home one evening to find a two-metre-tall frog asking for his help to save Tokyo from an imminent earthquake. Through memories, dreams and fantasies, Kyoko, Komura and Katagiri, influenced by their visions of earthquakes—which are manifested as evil willow trees, giant earthworms, secret vows, mysterious boxes and a dark, endless corridor—attempt to rediscover their true selves.

VENUE: EXETER PHOENIX, STUDIO 74

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>