His rich grandfather won’t help, so she contrives to make out a fake cashier’s cheque and ‘loans’ Kota the money. It turns out he has financial problems after borrowing money from a loan shark for pay for tuition. She lets him take her to a love hotel, and before long they are embroiled in a lusty and playful relationship. Though it is hinted at – but never emphasized – things are dull at home with her distant but genially ambitious husband, and when she meets Kota (Sosuke Ikematsu), the grandson of one of her clients, she is intrigued by his interest in her. It is the early 1990s, and Rika Umezawa (Miyazawa) has recently been promoted to a full time position, and cycles around to sell savings schemes to wealthy elderly clients. Likely to feature at other festivals, the film is set to be released in Japan in November. With an almost permanently worried expression on her face, Miyazawa gives a memorable performance that should help see further attention to both her role and the film itself internationally. The film, which world premiered in competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival, pokes gentle fun at the notion of Japan’s ordered, obedient and mannered society, and while running perhaps a little too long its story never dawdles and heads towards a smart ending that leaves you sympathetic to this most gentle and warm-hearted swindler. An absorbingly subversive Japanese film that delightfully blends drama with moments of almost mischievous fun, Yoshida Daihachi’s Pale Moon ( Kami no Tsuki) is a real delight, given heart, compassion and a real sense of low-key rebellion thanks to Rie Miyazawa’s delightful lead performance as a mid-mannered bank worker and wife who turns to embezzling so she can keep her younger lover happy.Īt the same time her schemes – which allow her to gain real independence (especially since handily her husband has been transferred to China) – give her a profound sense of liberation.
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