Decoding Personal Histories Amidst Destruction

Read Time:3 Minute, 40 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Okurimono
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Genre: Documentary
Year Released: 2024
Runtime: 1h 36m
Director(s): Laurence Lévesque
Where To Watch: world premiere at the 2024 Visions du Réel – International Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: OKURIMONO is a journey back in time wrapped in the lush landscapes of Nagasaki, where history isn't just seen but felt. As Noriko returns to her ancestral roots, the movie navigates through layers of personal and historical traumas with a finesse that merges the visual with the visceral. Every scene resonates with the echoes of the past, and the ups and downs of the story are handled with a guided approach that always remains sensitive to the subject.

Stepping off the plane, Noriko doesn’t just return to Nagasaki; she steps directly into her childhood memories, intricately painted by OKURIMONO. With each item she dusts off in her ancestral home, the film peels back layers of a family history interrupted by the cataclysm of war, crafting a narrative as textured as the landscapes it showcases. It is almost as though these moments were saved in history for this specific reason.

OKURIMONO uses the lush greenery and urban textures of contemporary Nagasaki not merely as settings but as silent narrators of the story. This visual texture throughout enriches the film, removing the standard clichés and allowing the natural beauty to speak volumes about silence and memory. The director's choice to include the environment as a character in some ways enhances the storytelling, offering a fresh lens through which to view historical narratives.

As the plot unfolds, Noriko discovers letters that bridge her present with the haunting past of the Nagasaki bombing. These letters thread the personal agony of historical events into the fabric of the present, bringing the consequences of the atomic bomb into sharp, painful detail. This narrative technique personalizes an unthinkable history, pulling the audience into a deeper emotional engagement with the characters' shared legacies.

The film's soundscape, particularly the pervasive chirping of cicadas, starkly contrasts the historical silence about the bombing's aftermath. This sound design choice not only heightens the film's atmospheric tension but also roots the viewer firmly in the narrative's time and place, enhancing the emotional gravity of the story.

One of the film’s most pivotal scenes is the demolition of the family home during the Spirit Boat Procession. This is a profoundly cathartic moment where personal and historical narratives converge, allowing Noriko—and the audience—to let go of haunting legacies and embrace the possibility of moving forward.

OKURIMONO challenges viewers to consider the permanence of stories and their impact on our understanding of history. The film posits that history is not something to be merely observed from afar but a living entity that we interact with, influencing and shaping our perception of identity and legacy.

With its thoughtful exploration of how memories shape us, OKURIMONO distinguishes itself as recounting past events and a poignant reflection on remembering. It invites the audience to watch and feel, reflect, and find a bit of themselves in the intertwined stories of heritage and healing. This film does more than narrate; it compels us to confront the complexities of our histories and how they continue to influence us today.

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[photo courtesy of METAFILMS, SPIRA]

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