‘Tis the
season to snuggle up warm under a cosy duvet, and Yoriko Mizushiri’s animated short Futon (布団, 2012) explores the sensual aspects of doing just
that. In the West, the term “futon”
describes a wooden-framed sofa bed, but in Japan “futon” refers to both the
foldable mattress that one sleeps upon (shikibuton/敷き布団) and the duvet (kakebuton/掛け布団).
The film
begins silently with a slow tracking shot to the right. A woman’s long hair stretches away from her on
the floor and she is lying on a Japanese-style futon bed with the duvet pulled up to her forehead. The camera
continues to track down the length of the woman until it reaches her feet
sticking out of the duvet. A hand enters
from off-screen right holding a pair of chopsticks. Slowly, the chopsticks pass through the woman’s
feet and just moments before they snatch the duvet to cover the feet, the pulse
of the soundtrack begins.
Using a
gentle flow of images in in the abstract or close up / out of context so that one doesn't recognize them at first, Yoshiko Mizushiri takes us on a metaphorical journey
through the comforts of sleeping in wrapped in a duvet. The bed covering is transformed into a pair
of lips that are sensuously licked, the tongue then salivating over the thought
of strawberry cake. A sudden close up on
percolating coffee is followed by scene in which a hand stretches out an arm to
an impossible length, suggesting the conflicting desires in the morning to both
stay in bed and reach one’s coffee. A
disembodied nose inhales the scent of the coffee mug as it is perched on the
duvet. The woman’s foot stretches out to tuck itself under the fish topping of
a nigiri-zushi – drawing a visual
parallel between the fish blanketing the rice and the women blanketed in bed. In the next sequence, soy sauce gets dripped
into a dipping tray, then is dripped across the screen right and over the nigiri-zushi. The most striking image is that of the woman
hanging off the bottom lip of a sumptuous mouth, her body posed as if she were
embracing her covers. Her hand has just
reached out for a slice of sashimi which she flips into the open lips before
falling into the lips herself. This is
followed by an amusingly surreal sequence of the woman’s body contorting into
all sorts of unusual pretzel shapes before tippy-toeing through whipped cream
and strawberries.
The overall
impression is that the comfort of a warm futon is on a sensual par with
the enjoyment of a warm mug of coffee or decadently drizzling soy sauce onto one’s
sushi. This mesmerizing film tantalizes
all five of the senses in a visual journey that conjures up the smell of
coffee, the taste of sushi, the feel of lips against the skin accompanied by the
enchanting music of Mari Fukuhara (福原まり). The colour
palette and style have some similarities with the works of Atsushi Wada (learn
more here): clean, thin lines and a mostly muted palette. However, Fukuhara differs significantly from Wada in her
use of music and imagery. As with her earlier films, Fukuhara has
developed a unique aesthetic that uses everyday imagery (a woman’s body, cake,
sushi, coffee) in extraordinary ways. The
film can be found on the new DVD/Blu-ray L'Animation
Indépendante Japonaise, Volume 1 – I highly recommend checking it out!
Yoriko Mizushiri (水尻自子, b.
1984) is a freelance film director who graduated from Joshibi University of Art
and Design. You can follow Mizushiri on tumblr and twitter, or check out her official
website shiripro. Futon
won a number of prizes in Japan including the prestigious Renzo Kinoshita Prize
at Hiroshima and the New Face Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival. It has
also been a big hit at international festivals, making the short list for
Cartoon Brew’s most
well liked animated short of 2013 and winning Best of the Festival at LIAF
2013. The film appears on my Best Japanese Indie Animation Shorts 2013 list. Mizushiri’s most recent film, Snow Hut (かまくら,
2013), made the Jury Selection at this year’s Japan Media Arts Festival.
Mari Fukuhara's music also appeared on the soundtrack for Mai Tominaga's 2010 feature film Rinco's Restaurant (read my review of the film). You can order her latest album karakuri here.
Director:
Yoriko
Mizushiri
Animation:
Yoriko
Mizushiri
Marie
Matsunaga
Ikumi
Nakamura
Rika Inoue
Music:
“Dark End”
by Mari Fukuhara from the album “karakuri”
Arranged by
Seiji Toda
Catherine
Munroe Hotes 2014
