Rainbow Song

Colour, 35 mm
Japan, 2006, 117 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

This tender story about unfulfilled love tells the tale of the special relationship between an immature youngster named Tomoya, who works as an assistant in a small television company, and the gifted Aoi, who wants to become a film director. When Aoi dies in a plane crash in America, Tomoya’s thoughts return to his first encounter with the remarkable girl and the most important moments of their growing friendship. The narration is divided into several chapters and gradually draws the audience into a romance full of innuendo, the protagonists being unable to express their deepest feelings to one another. Sometimes we fail to recognise the thing we are most ardently seeking until it is too late. But we can still feel the happiness of having experienced something truly extraordinary, even if only for a little while.

About the director

Naoto Kumazawa (b. 1967, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan) began making independent films as a student. After completing his studies he joined up with a production company and continued to make independent productions. Having decided to work as a freelancer, he created a number of his own documentary films and music videos. His first commercial film, Tokyo Noir, was released in 2004 and was followed a year later by Letters from Kanai Nirai, which was widely acclaimed at home and abroad. His recent film Vanished (2006) stars Ken Miyake of V6, one of the leading pop groups in Japan and the whole of Asia. Rainbow Song is the first film on which the Japanese director Shunji Iwai worked as a producer.