Melancholic (dual format)

A bathhouse doubles as a front for a Yakuza murders

Despite having graduated from the prestigious Tokyo University, Kazuhiko is unemployed and living with his parents without any plans for the future. Everything changes, however, when he takes up a job at a local bathhouse and discovers that it is used by the yakuza as a convenient place for executions and corpse disposal.

Winner of the Best Director Award at the 2018 Tokyo International Film Festival: Japanese Cinema Splash, this auspicious debut from writer/director Seiji Tanaka features an ingenious script full of unexpected shifts in genre and tone, effortlessly swinging between black comedy, coming-of-age romance and crime thriller.

Winner – Best Director, Tokyo Film Festival
Winner – Best Debut Feature, Udine Far East Film Festival
Winner – Audience Award, Japan Cuts Film Festival
Winner – Audience Award, Nippon Connection
Winner – Audience Award, Asian Pop-Up Cinema
Winner – Jury Award, Camera Japan