This film is part of our TOTAL DESTRUCTION! series, in which everything—mentally, physically, or emotionally—is spectacularly destroyed.
The first part of Japanese director Nobuhiko Obayashi’s anti-war trilogy.
The film follows young journalist Reiko Endo, who travels to Nagaoka shortly after the 2011 TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami to cover a story. There, she encounters an old flame, a fireworks festival, and a play staged by a mysterious student. In this city—whose past is steeped in wars and natural disasters—Reiko discovers how deeply the echoes of destruction have permeated the town, its inhabitants, and their children.
In dreamlike sequences, Obayashi weaves together stories from past, present, and future. He connects the destructive force of war with the threat of natural disasters, showing how these leave their mark on a land and its people. With a keen eye, Obayashi observes how different generations relate to a history of devastation and violence, while revealing the promise of a new generation. He dedicates the film “to the children of the future from the adults who lived the past.”