Hush!
Soon after the disparate yet compatible Naoya (Kazuya Takahashi) and Katsuhiro (Seiichi Tanabe) start to settle into a relationship, a slightly unhinged young woman named Asako (Reiko Kataoka) asks Katsuhiro to father her child. While the couple navigate the implications of this unexpected proposal, they are forced to confront their conflicting understandings of what it means to be gay and in a committed relationship. A landmark work of LGBTQ Japanese cinema by pioneering director Ryosuke Hashiguchi, Hush! humorously and poignantly upends the traditional Japanese genre of the family drama to offer a deeply human story about three people doing their best to be true to themselves.
- Official Selection, 2001 Cannes Film Festival (Director’s Fortnight)
- Winner, Best Film, Best Actor (Seiichi Tanabe), Best Director at 2003 Yokohama Film Festival
- Winner, Best Actress (Reiko Kataoka) at 2002 Kinema Junpo Awards
“Japanese director Ryosuke Hashiguchi enriches his rendition with melancholic ambivalence, sociological specificity, and a knack for delicate epiphany.” —Village Voice
Streaming in the U.S. from February 5-25 as part of 21st Century Japan: Films from 2001-2020