Beyond the Fog
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Theatrical Screenings
Kinoteka 3
Kinoteka 1
Online Availability
Additional Materials
Film description
The destination of mountain hikes, the once vibrant village of Kawakami in Nara Prefecture, is now forgotten and falling into economic collapse. Hidden among the mountains and forests, it remains suspended in timelessness. Here, life goes by at a lazy pace, and the residents are experiencing stagnation first-hand. The future of the family of 12-year-old Ihiki, who has been running a local ryokan for generations, is also uncertain. When their eldest mysteriously disappears, the family is left without answers, surrounded by the misty landscape.
"Beyond the Fog" is a story filled with peace and local wisdom about the nature of time, its inevitable passage, connection to the cycle of nature, and a nostalgic glimpse into the past. Murase's debut is a spiritual twin of Ryūsuke Hamaguchi's "There Is No Evil", using the presence of nature and its ambivalence in similar ways. Murase portrays it as a mysterious entity, hiding much more than we, humans, can wrap our heads around. In his vision, memories of Kawakami's past take the form of a sequence of mesmerizing images, a testament to its former glory. Visiting the stunning Kawakami is an experience in itself – like forest bathing on a misty autumn morning.
Daichi Murase
2019 Wasureteku Kedo / Forget But (short)
2023 Mgliście / Kiri no fuchi / Beyond the Fog
