“I will be pleased if the audience realises that this film is a document of the ‘light and shadow' which flicker inside a woman.” - Hirokazu Kore-edaThe fundamental human experience of mourning and regeneration is rendered with quietly gathered power in this story about a young woman who believes she brings death to those she loves. Kore-eda's first film unfurls in a contemplative, classically Japanese style. Though it begins with sadness, it ends in an immensely satisfying epiphany. Winner of the Golden Osella at Venice Film Festival. “A visually lush, poetic tale of love and loss with a touch of mystery… Harking back to the golden age of Japanese cinema, Kore-eda's remarkable use of light, space and stillness perceptively conveys the lives and emotions of his characters.” - New Directors/New Films 1996