To the Ends of the Earth
Asian Cinema
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2h 0m
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa | 120 mins | 2019
This rare film made outside Kurosawa's native Japan is also some of the closest he's come to outright comedy. When TV host Yoko (J-pop sensation Atsuko Maeda) travels to Uzbekistan to record a new episode of her travel show, the country's unfamiliar environment and customs begin exposing the untenability of her seemingly upbeat life. Whether it's problems with a boyfriend back home, an aloof director by her side, or the terror of a cheap carnival ride captured in a stunning set piece, Yoko struggles to process her emotions when she isn't singing an Edith Piaf song. A unique entry into Kurosawa’s filmography that still couldn’t have been made by anyone else, "To the Ends of the Earth" is one of his most mysterious explorations of an inner life.
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