“Remembering all the nights” The times that come together, the women who keep the fire going

Synopsis of "Remembering Every Night"

Tama New Town, a town located on the outskirts of Tokyo, began development during the period of high economic growth. Over 50 years have passed since residents first moved in, and now, this town is quiet but full of life. One day in spring, on her birthday, Chizu begins to walk the winding streets of the new town, relying on a moving postcard she received from a friend. Sanae, a gas meter reader, searches for an elderly man who has been missing since early morning, while Natsu, a university student, goes to meet the mother of a friend who has passed away, holding a voucher for a photo taken by the friend. As three women of different generations move around the town for their own reasons, they recall memories of the town and think about someone they have never met.

Index

• Shape of Sound, Shape of Memory
• Look for Similarities
• Keep the fire burning

Shape of Sound, Shape of Memory

Sometimes I can't quite understand whether the fragmented memories from my childhood are really my own experiences. I certainly have some fragments of memory that could provide clues, such as my visual and auditory senses, the feel of things, and the smell of the air at the time, but I just can't remember why I was in that situation. I have a strong memory of that moment, but I can't remember any of the memories that come with it. Maybe I saw this memory in a dream when I was an adult, and I didn't actually experience it. Maybe I'm just imagining that I experienced something that I never experienced. I fabricate memories that only exist within myself. It can be very unsettling at times, but it's also fun at the same time. It's because it feels like it opens up the possibility of a world that could have been.

Set in Tama New Town, director Kiyohara Yui's film "Remembering Every Night" (22) begins with a scene at dawn. A city that has just woken up from its slumber. A main street with no pedestrians. A deserted park. The Birds singing. The rustling of trees. An apartment complex. A person cleaning in front of an apartment building. Time slowly passes. Eventually, a scene of young people playing music in a park bathed in sunlight is captured. The cheerful conversation and music fade away, and the sound of an airplane flying overhead joins in. And then the rustling of the trees swaying in the wind begins again...

"Remembering Every Night" ©2022 PFF Partners (Pia, Horipro, Nikkatsu) / PFF General Incorporated Association

In this work, the sounds of the city suddenly appear and then disappear somewhere. The sounds are "closed up" and disappear like a soap bubble bursting. Just listening to the sounds of the city is pleasant. There is a harmony with the city here. This work seems to explore where the sounds of the city, the vibrations of sound, disappear to. The particles of sound that suddenly appear and then disappear somewhere have no shape. They are very similar to vague memories, fragments of memories that you are not even sure you actually experienced.

Look for Similarities