Railroad Man

Otomatsu is stationmaster at the last stop on a line in northern Hokkaido that is about to close. For forty years he has blown his whistle in the snow on the same platform. His daughter died as an infant and his wife died in hospital; he was on duty at the end of both and did not leave his post. When the line closes he is offered a job at a hotel, but he cannot imagine taking off the uniform. Then a young woman turns up at the station, full of questions about trains. She resembles his dead daughter, and forty years of grief he never allowed himself comes back. Yasuo Furuhata directs, with Ken Takakura as Otomatsu. A hundred and twelve minutes. It is adapted from a story by Jiro Asada. It swept the Japanese academy awards that year, with Takakura named best actor.