Sway
After a long absence, fashion photographer Takeru (Joe Odagiri) returns from Tokyo to his rural hometown to attend his mother’s memorial service. Free from small town obligations, the Tokyo transplant barely conceals his condescension to his meek older brother Minoru (Teruyuki Kagawa), who inherited the humble family business. When the siblings take a trip to a nearby ravine with their childhood friend, a tragedy occurs that tests their relationship and reveals long-gestating resentments between them. This suspenseful and deeply felt exploration of familial ties by former Hirokazu Kore-eda acolyte Miwa Nishikawa (Under the Open Sky) launched the director as a major talent in contemporary Japanese cinema.
- Official Selection, 2006 Cannes Film Festival (Directors’ Fortnight)
- Winner, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Teruyuki Kagawa) at 2007 Yokohama Film Festival
“Sway is a film on the gaping chasms between countryside and city, between family life and ‘freeter’ existence, between patriarchy and individualism… Miwa Nishikawa’s Sway is about Japan today— questioning, investigating, challenging, perceptive.” —Midnight Eye
“Ever since her sophomore feature Sway premiered at Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight in 2006, Nishikawa has been a name to watch for riveting, wickedly cynical works.” —Variety
Note: This feature is soft-subtitled. Please click on the “CC” button in the lower-right corner of the player to enable English subtitles
Streaming in the U.S. from February 5-25 as part of 21st Century Japan: Films from 2001-2020