THE DRY SPELL
渇水
In the middle of one of the worst droughts on record, Shunsaku (Toma Ikuta), a Waterworks Division employee, is tasked with shutting off the water to households with outstanding water bills. Shunsaku is disaffected, hated by those he visits, poor families who cannot afford basic necessities.
One day while out on his rounds, he comes across two little girls who’s mother appears largely absent. Toeing the line between helping the girls and doing his job, Shunsaku’s stoic detachment begins to crack. As the girls’ situation becomes increasingly desperate, Shunsaku must decide whether he will cross the line, forcing him to also face the abandonment of his own wife and child.
The sophomore feature from director Masaya Takahashi, THE DRY SPELL undoubtedly evokes a comparison to films such as Kore-eda’s NOBODY KNOWS and So Yong Kim’s TREELESS MOUNTAIN. However, Takahashi’s tale, full of metaphor and ennui, imbues climate with a main character energy that begs a broader examination of the state of dissolution and connection in modern Japan.