FUKUSHIMA, MY LOVE

FUKUSHIMA, MY LOVE (GRÜSSE AUS FUKUSHIMA) 2016

Germany | DCP, Black & White, 108’ | German, English, Japanese

Director:Doris Dörrie

Cast:Rosalie Thomass, Kaori Momoi, Nami Kamata

Marie and her husband separate on the day of their wedding. Marie decides to run far away so that she can leave her unhappy life behind. She goes to Japan to join a troupe of clowns called “Clowns4Help”. Her aim is to help those surviving the Fukushima disaster. Although she realizes she won’t be able to fulfil this duty before long, she doesn’t want to back down. She accompanies Satomi, an elderly Geisha, to her wrecked home in the region which has been quarantined due to radioactive contamination since 2011. An unlikely friendship develops between the women during their time together. Premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival of 2016, Fukushima, My Love is, for a long time, one of the rare German films to be shot in black and white, and widescreen format in such an accomplished manner.