Faces of a Fig Tree

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Movie: Faces of a Fig Tree
Romaji: Ichijiku no kao
Japanese: 無花果の顔
Director: Kaori Momoi
Writer: Kaori Momoi
Producer:
Cinematographer
Release Date: 2006
Runtime: 94 min.
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot

The Kadowaki family lives in a traditional wooden house with a fig tree in the garden. Mr. Kadowaki is a simple, rough-mannered construction worker and Mrs. Kadowaki is a devoted housewife, despite her suspicions about other women in her husband’s life. One day, while working in an abandoned construction site, Kadowaki San spies a surprisingly sexy sprite. Shortly after, he collapses and dies. The widow, who goes to live with her daughter, a journalist with her own peculiarities, finds work in a restaurant. When she and the boss become a couple, they move back to the house with the fig tree. The once barren tree becomes an active participant in the story…

The Kadowaki family lives in a traditional Japanese wooden house with a fig tree in the yard. The atmosphere is rough, but warm-hearted. The father sets off for Tokyo to take a secretive night job at a construction site. This sows mistrust in the family. Barely after having returned, Oto dies from a sudden brain hemorrhage. Mother Maasa loses her emotional balance, daughter Yume discovers her adoption papers; their world starts to unravel.

Notes

Stories of dysfunctional families are a field open to comedy, eccentricity and surrealism, as is well proven by actress Momoi Kaori's directorial debut. A traditional Japanese house, a tree as the silent observer of life’s passing, and the inevitable conclusion that despite being relatives, the characters in this family unit do not understand each other. The aesthetic decisions taken by the director are as unconventional as the family she depicts: actors who address the spectator in big close-ups, animated interludes with foul-mouthed ants and unorthodox usage of camera angle, make this movie a highly interesting and original pic. Kimura Takeo, art director on many of Seijun Suzuki’s films (Princess Raccoon, BAFF 2006), is responsible for the extravagant set design.