“A deft and absorbing multi-pronged tale about a kind,
hard-working woman whose life becomes a morass of collateral damage,
A Girl Missing is a satisfying slow-burn drama expertly told.”
— Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily
“Reuniting with his Harmonium lead Mariko Tsutsui, Fukada creates another emotionally palpable tale about perspective. Expertly acted and with a
dual-pronged narrative as equally well choreographed….”
— Nicholas Bell, Ion Cinema
“Akin to Harmonium, Fukada’s storytelling is suspenseful and nuanced.
Here…his handling is even more high-strung and dramatic.”
— Diana Cheng, Asian American Press
SYNOPSIS
One of the finest Japanese directors to emerge in the last decade, Kôji Fukada has earned renown for crafting suspenseful dramas. Following 2016’s Harmonium, which captured Cannes’ prestigious Un Certain Regard Jury Prize, he returns with A GIRL MISSING, a tense portrait of a woman caught up in a spiral of defamation.
In this slow-burning thriller, also scripted by Fukada, Ichiko (Harmonium’s
Mariko Tsutsui) works as a home-care nurse to the elderly matriarch of the Oisho family — long enough to feel like part of the family. She’s closest to the eldest sister, Motoko (Mikako Ichikawa), who’s studying to follow in Ichiko’s footsteps. However, their happy routine is disrupted when Motoko’s sister, Saki (Miyu Ogawa), is abducted. The girl is eventually returned, but it’s discovered that her kidnapper was Ichiko’s nephew – a fact that Motoko insists they keep between them. It’s this shared secret that forges an even closer bond between the two, yielding further confessions — some of which may be turned into weapons.
Nominated for a “Best Film” Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival and a “Best Feature” Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival, A GIRL MISSING was an Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.
A GIRL MISSING (2019)
Written and Directed by: Kôji Fukada
Cast: Mariko Tsutsui, Mikako Ichikawa, Sosuke Ikematsu, Hisako Ookata,
Mitsuru Fukikoshi , Miyu Ogawa
Produced by: Naohiko Ninomiya, Daisuke Futagi, Hirohisa Mukuju,
Masa Sawada
Executive Produced by: Shinichiro Inoue
Director of Photography: Kenichi Negishi
Genre: Drama
RT: 111 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Sound:5.1. Surround Sound
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
