Megane

CANADIAN PREMIERE | Selected for Sundance in 2008, Megane is writer-director Naoko Ogigami’s much-anticipated follow-up to her cult success Kamome Diner, a popular hit during our 2007 Kibatsu series (it returns for a repeat screening this year; see July 16). Toting an armoured suitcase, buttoned-up and bespectacled Taeko checks into a tiny seaside inn. Seeking solitude, she finds herself irked by the establishment’s unorthodox, somewhat intrusive approach to guest relations, but gradually comes to appreciate the quirky, unhurried, "being present" quality of life and community on this remote island idyll. "There’s a lot of talk about the ‘visceral power of film.’ But Megane takes a step further, manifesting a process whereby the viewer can partake in the characters’ peace...A soulful journey rife with subtle ‘aha’ moments, Megane is minimalist and quiet but never didactic or serious. Like a good Buddhist teacher, its unexpected humour delights and thaws us" (Sundance Film Festival). "A vaguely magical, insistently modern fable...Serenity and irony are mixed to piquant perfection...The values of contemplation aren't usually the stuff of exhilarating cinema, but Ogigami, in so many ways, defies expectations...The acting and extraordinarily confident direction give the film tremendous soul" (Variety). Colour, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 106 mins.

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