Touching the Skin of Eeriness

Film – Three by Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Following the death of his father, Chihiro abates his loneliness by practicing a unique, water-like form of modern dance with his friend Naoya in which the young men’s hands and bodies intertwine with each other but never touch. Things take a strange turn when Naoya’s girlfriend breaks up with him, setting off a sequence of events that leads to an unexplained tragedy at a nearby river. A prequel to an as-of-yet-unmade feature film, Touching the Skin of Eeriness offers more questions than it can answer, creating a powerfully evocative sense of mystery that finds Hamaguchi emphasizing mood and tone over dialogue or exposition.

2013. 54 min. Starring Shota Sometani, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Natsumi Seto, Hoshi Ishida, Ayumi Mizukoshi.

Part of Three by Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Price: $3 for 7-day rental after purchase, with a 48-hour viewing window. 20% off for members. 
Special offer: Rent all three films in this series together for $10 / $ 8 members. 

Japan Society Film’s programs are generously supported by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund.

Additional season support is provided by The Globus Family, David Toberisky, Geoff and Fumi Matters, George Gallagher, Laurel Gonsalves, James Read Levy, Akiko Koide and Shohei Koide, Masu Hiroshi Masuyama, Dr. Tatsuji Namba, David S. Howe, and Michael Romano.

Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the exclusive Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film.