Maborosi

A young couple in Osaka and their newborn child. One day Ikuo steps in front of a train and dies, and why is never established. Years later Yumiko marries a widower named Tamio and moves to his village on the Sea of Japan coast. The question still does not lift. It is Hirokazu Kore-eda's first fiction feature, from a novel by Teru Miyamoto. Makiko Esumi, Tadanobu Asano and Takashi Naito star. Late in the film Tamio attempts an explanation, saying something like the will-o'-the-wisps may have drawn him away. It is not an answer, only a way of living with the grief. It won the Golden Osella for Best Cinematography at the 1995 Venice Film Festival. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 100 percent from 24 reviews with an 8.1 average. Roger Ebert praised its astonishing beauty and sadness and pointed to the influence of Yasujirō Ozu. Siskel and Ebert both gave it a thumbs up and included it in their 1997 best films episode. Who it is for: viewers who like slow films held at a distance and quiet work about grief. Who it is not for: anyone wanting explanation. The film never gives a reason for the suicide, and that is deliberate.