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 Story
The scene of the story is laid in a tranquil village in some future
world, where high technology is integrated with its nostalgic scenery.
Under "the exhausted tree", a machine is built,
which supports the life of the tree.
There lives "an old craftsman" who fixes it. "The Box"
made by him is rambling along the old railroad, taking the memories of
the people and the events in the village in it. In his quiet life, The
old craftsman is worried about The Box, saying " I have not fulfilled
his wish yet".
Then, the monotonous and peaceful scene in the village has begun
to change slowly after the old craftsman's death - the tree fallen down,
The Box broken.
The mourning for The Box, however, will open up a new prospect.
What is the wish of The Box which is now appearing ?
Note for this film
This is a completely new kind of SF film which shows the future
of our civilization profoundly and quietly but humorously, having "The
Box" as the leading role.
It tells allegorically like a picture book the possibility of the
peaceful co-existence of high technology and tree, a symbol of nature.
The quite unique world of this film is depicted in its simple and
beautiful images, which can entirely change our images for monochrome films.
There is the future no one has ever imagined in "The Box".
Cast
Koichi Hayashi / Shigenori Yamazaki / Chie Masaki / Tom Miura etc.
Staff
Director Screenplay Photography Music by
Kanji Nakajima
Director of Photography Kazuma Yamaoka
Art Works Akira Katsuta / Takayuki Cho / Toshiaki Nakai
/ Emiko Aiba
Assistant Director Jynichi Ishigami
Producer Yoshikazu Kobayashi
Introduction from
The27th.HongKong International Film Festival Catalogue
Anyone who appreciates the stark beauty of monochrome cinematography will
notice this Sci-fi allegory's affinity with the visual transcendence and
spiritual revelation of Tarkovsky. Set in an unspecified apocalyptic landscape,
the opening image of a tree, sustained by a mechanical life support, sets
the tone for the film's ecological message. Like The Sacrifice, it reflects
on the relation between humanity, technology and nature through dream-like
sequences - of an old "craftsman" who makes machines from rocks,
his death, which transforms his village into a wasteland, and a box with
a mind of its own and a secret inside.
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