Utilising the genre of the road trip movie as an introspective self-journey of acceptance and moving forward both physically and emotionally, Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s award winning Yoko stars Rinko Kikuchi as the film’s titular character.
Yoko, despite living in one of the most populated cities in the world, is isolated and alone in her apartment. She works her job from home, preferring to have her groceries delivered rather than integrate into the outside world. After dropping and breaking her phone, Yoko, a customer service agent, must seek the help of another customer service company – the first hint at the underlying theme of Yoko’s proceeding journey.
After being visited by a cousin, Yoko discovers her father has died and she must head back to her hometown to attend his funeral. However, after a series of unfortunate mishaps, Yoko is abandoned at a service station by her cousin and his family, basically penniless and without a mobile phone. She embarks on her own journey to get from Tokyo to Hirosaki, hitchhiking along the way and meeting an array of personalities which will force her to come to terms with her past, as well as her present.
Through a quiet, yet powerful performance from Kikuchi, audiences are engulfed in the inner turmoil of Yoko, her discomfort at being around and communicating with people, and her anxiety that surrounds her need to seek help in a desperate situation. Despite audiences never being fully privy to the ins and outs of her relationship with her father, his ghost haunts her at every turn, tormenting her with parental guilt – a universally relatable aspect for adult children. Her voyage is filled with sacrifice, disappointment and danger, yet it is through the strangers who themselves have been through trauma (namely the Fukushima tsunami) where Yoko encounters warmth and comfort, finally feeling the strength to open up and connect with others.
Surrounded by a landscape as bleak and desolate as the main character’s state of mind, Yoko is an emotional depiction of the arduous pilgrimage victims of parental trauma must take on to finally reach a place of peace and acceptance.
Yoko
Summary
Surrounded by a landscape as bleak and desolate as the main character’s state of mind, Yoko is an emotional depiction of the arduous pilgrimage victims of parental trauma must take on to finally reach a place of peace and acceptance.
Yoko was reviewed as part of the The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme. The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024 takes place in cinemas around the UK from 2 February – 31 March 2024. For further information please head here.
