Period

Life and Death on the Shore

海辺の生と死

Directed by: Michio Koshikawa
2017 / 155 minutes / All

A DEEP AND MEDITATIVE PORTRAIT OF LOVE AND PASSION IN THE TIME OF WAR.

Screened as part of JFF 2017

This picturesque war romance unfolds against the stunning backdrop of Kakeromajima in the Amami Islandsduring the tail end of World War II. Manila has fallen and Tokyo is burning, but life in Kakeromajima continues undisturbed. However, the Imperial Japanese Navy continue to arrive, concealing Shinyo suicide boats within the island.

Toé (Hikari Mitsushima, Gukoroku) is a daughter of the island and devoted schoolteacher to the local children. Saku (Kento Nagayama, Sanada 10 Braves) is a hesitant young captain who would rather spend time reading books and learning island songs in the local language. They are both drawn to each other, but are careful to overstep any personal boundaries.

When Toé receives a letter from Saku to meet by the beach, they begin a secret romance by the shade of night. However, their time together cannot last — as the war looms closer, the lovestruck couple runs out of borrowed time.