"Remembering Every Night" follows three women over a spring day

Written by Diane Carson

As we pursue our daily lives, who hasn’t wondered upon occasion about the strangers encountered over the course of an unexceptional day? With this as the inspiration for  “Remembering Every Night,” writer/director Yui Kiyohara meanders over one spring day with three women, their paths intersecting in present-day Tama New Town, a Tokyo satellite commuter city designed in the mid-1960s.

For variety’s sake, the three women present a range of ages and situations. Events begin with forty-four-year-old Chizu. Previously a kimono dresser, after an unproductive interview at a job placement office, Chizu decides to take a bus to find a former friend’s apartment. She will wander similar-looking, multilevel streets and parks for hours searching for that location. Along the way, Chizu will cross paths with thirty-three-year-old, gas meter inspector Sanae. In an amusing scene, she spies Chizu who has climbed a tree attempting to recover two children’s badminton shuttlecock. 

Meantime, Sanae becomes concerned about the senile Mr. Takada reported on a neighborhood loudspeaker as having wandered aimlessly from his home. Sanae will attempt to help him in the course of her work. Finally, the youngest, twenty-two-year-old, disillusioned university student Natsu reminisces about her dead friend Dai, visits (with a friend) a museum of 2500-year-old Middle Jomon clay figurines and Dai’s mother, from whom Natsu gets a receipt for previously undeveloped film. The three women will not directly interact, though in a charming scene Chizu mirrors Natsu’s dance routine.
 
In what Kiyohara calls the women’s polyphonic world, distance matters, both in terms of time and space. Memories punctuate the present; emotions mediate choices. To maintain a restrained, introspective mood, cinematographer Yukiko Iioka uses wide shots as emotions shift within the narrative. Though most of the time, Tama Town’s concrete, architecturally uniform housing blocks feel uninviting, the women are immensely engaging. Significantly, when Chizu asks for directions, one man says, “It all looks the same here. It’s easy to get lost.”

On a happier note, all three women communicate an appealing presence and move believably, subtly toward thoughtful acceptance. Settling into their world encourages reflection and enjoyment of our own.  In Japanese with English subtitles, “Remembering Every Night” screens at Webster University’s Winifred Moore auditorium Friday, October 20, through Sunday, October 22, at 7:00 each of those evenings.  For more information, you may visit the film series website.