Shara
(Sharasôjyu)

Very involved in the social life of the old district of the town of Nara (the home town of Naomi Kawase, who when pregnant played the role of Reiko, the mother), the existence of the Aso family is shaken the day that Kei, one of their sons, suddenly disappears. Shun is torn between a dull pain and the complicit attraction he feels for his childhood friend Yu, who subsequently learns the mystery of his birth. The two teenagers carry the heavy secrets underpinning their relationship with the world through the labyrinthine but familiar streets of Nara. How can one live with want, finish grieving, re-find the path of one’s own life, be reborn? As a telluric and redemptive rain falls, the celebration of the Basara street festival opens the door to a physical and symbolic passage where, in the movement of a jubilant crowd, Yu et Shun recount everything unspoken to the kindly Dieu Jizo. JB