Technically,
Okinawa is still part of Japan, but you might understandably start to doubt
that on the remote island of Aguni. The bone washing ritual called senkotsu would
be one reason why (it is what it sounds like). Four years after the death of
their mother, a wildly dysfunctional family reunites to literally wash her
bones and pick bones of their own in Toshiyuki Teruya (a.k.a. Gori)’s Born Bone Born (trailer here), which screens
during the 2018 Japan Cuts Festival of New Japanese Film.
Since
Emiko died, her husband Nobutsuna has become a sad drunk. Their grown son
Tsuyoshi bitterly resents being the responsible one, who paid off the family debts.
Responsibility has never been his sister Yuko’s strong suit, but when she shows
up in an advanced stage of pregnancy with no husband in tow, it totally
scandalizes the island. Fortunately, matronly Aunt Nobuko can put gossips in
their place, right quick.
Obviously,
the awkward homecoming will crescendo during the senkotsu ceremony. In the
meantime, the family will air all their grievances, but frankly, they probably
need to get everything out in the open before they can start to heal. In fact,
their family actually stands to grow, between Yuko’s baby and her lover, who
has no idea what kind of buzz saw he is walking into when he follows her out to
Aguni.
BBB is a lovely little
film that is not unlike Kore-eda’s Still Walking (which also screens at this year’s Japan Cuts, in honor of its 10th
anniversary), both in terms of theme and tone, but Teruya/Gori finds
considerably more humor in family angst. In fact, the humor nicely counterbalances
the sentimentalism of it all.
The
ensemble also shows great range and flexibility. Just when they seem to settle into
their assigned roles, Ayame Misaki as Yuko, the flaky one; Eiji Okuda as
Nobutsuna, the depressive one; and Michitaka Tsutsui as Tsuyoshi, the judgmental
one; they start to mellow and evolve.
Aguni
makes quite a picturesque backdrop, where it looks like time stands still (which
it actually does, according to one character). Kazuya Sahara and Koja Misako
also penned a beautifully evocative minimalist soundtrack that also compares
favorably with GONTITI’s music for Still
Walking. Once again, Teruya proves nobody does domestic drama and dramedy
better than Japan—or in this case, Okinawa. Highly recommended for discerning adult
viewers, Born Bone Born screens
tomorrow at noon (7/21) at the Japan Society, as part of this year’s Japan
Cuts.
