Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone

『おらおらでひとりいぐも』

Seventy-five-year-old Momoko (Yuko Tanaka) lives a solitary existence, residing in a large, empty house after the death of her husband. With each day blending into the next, Momoko’s loneliness manifests itself in peculiar ways—she starts to have visions of her past, accompanied by the sudden appearance of three imaginary men named Ora (meaning “I” in her native Tohoku dialect). Okita’s offbeat surrealism playfully dips between past and present as Momoko reaches back to her younger years for comfort—from her initial arrival to Tokyo as a runaway (played by Yu Aoi) to falling in love—resulting in the resurgence of unfulfilled dreams, regrets and doubts. A contemplative and whimsical meditation on a long-lived life, Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone is a gentle and mature exploration of loneliness that skillfully brings comedy and humor to its melancholic subject matter.

Streaming in North America from December 3-23 as part of Flash Forward: Debut Works and Recent Films by Notable Japanese Directors | Rent together with Okita’s The Chef of South Polar for only $15!