Vibrator

Japan. 2003. 95 min., 35 mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Hiroki Ryuichi. With Shinobu Terajima, Nao Omori, Riho Makise, Jun Murakami, Eugene Nomura, Miki Sakajou, Tomorowo Taguchi.

"Best Actress" (Shinobu Terajima) 2003; (46th) Blue Ribbon Awards 2004.
Official Selection: Venice, Tokyo, Toronto, Rotterdam.
FIPRESCI Prize at the Brisbane International Film Festival and named Best Film in Yokohama and Tokyo Film Festivals.

Suitable for 18 years and over.

Named Best Japanese Film of 2003 by the Japan Times and noted Japanese film authority Donald Richie, Vibrator is a remarkably affecting road movie brimming with cathartic intensity and bold eroticism. Directed by international rising star Ryuichi Hiroki (I Am an S&M Writer, Tokyo Trash Baby, It’s Only Talk) and based on the novel by Mari Akasaka, Vibrator follows Rei (Shinobu Terashima), a 30-something freelance writer wrestling with psychological instability and a penchant for booze. One night while shopping for beer at an urban mini-mart, Rei runs into Okabe (Nao Omori, of Takashi Miike’s Ichi the Killer), a handsome young trucker. Impulsive and captivated, she climbs into his rig for an impromptu road trip of sexual and emotional self-discovery. Psychologically raw and surprisingly uplifting, Vibrator, with its frank approach to sexuality, relationships and personal liberation, represents a creative milestone for director Hiroki.

"A standout! Ryuichi Hiroki’s Vibrator is a miniaturist, serenely bittersweet take on the intimate strangers genre recently fetishized in Lost in Translation." –Dennis Lim, Village Voice

Part of the Globus Film Series: Love Will Tear Us Apart

TICKETS
$12/$9 Japan Society members, seniors & students

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