Strawberry Shortcakes

Hitoshi Yazaki's 2006 film is adapted from Kiriko Nananan's comic. It follows four women in Tokyo, each alone in her own way. Satoko works the reception desk at an escort agency and prays every night to find someone who will love her. Akiyo works at the same place as a sex worker. Toko is an artist buried in her work who lives with an eating disorder. Her flatmate Chihiro wants only to be a perfect wife, though her boyfriend is not looking for that kind of relationship. The film judges none of them and rescues none of them; it shows how being lonely in a city turns into something close to a job. It won prizes at the Yokohama Film Festival.