The Mourning Forest

Shigeki, who is suffering from signs of senility, lives in a small retirement home in the care of a young nurse named Machiko. They both harbour the burdensome secret of having lost someone close. Machiko gets permission to take Shigeki on a trip in her car, but when it breaks down and Machiko wants to go to find help, Shigeko gets out of the car and walks into the nearby forest. Making sure she doesn’t lose sight of him, Machiko follows him into the deep and desolate wood until they are both lost and have to spend the night there. The second day they do not manage to find a way out either, but Shigeko doesn’t seem to mind, in fact he seems to have rediscovered his senses, and Machiko comes to understand that the old man believes he can find the place where his long-deceased wife is buried. She too begins to feel less tormented by her feelings of guilt over the death of her child. “Mogari denotes a time of mourning, or a place of mourning,” says the director. “In the region of Tawara, where the film takes place, the dead are buried without being cremated, and even today the villagers keep up the tradition of funeral processions.” The film, in which the majesty of nature plays a fundamental role, was awarded with the Grand Prix at the 60th Cannes IFF.