Tetsutaro Nakamura

A film inspired by Italian author Cesare Pavese’s novel called The Beautiful Summer

Kanako Seri is on a packed bus heading to band practice. She becomes fascinated by a melody being hummed by another passenger, an old woman.

Kazuho Anamori, a high school girl, was unable to fit in with her class because she was reluctant to withdraw. One day, by chance, she met Miko Karakida, who was born with heart disease, and they became closer. However, six months later, the shrine maiden died while in the hospital. A letter arrives at Ichiho who is sad. "I have a story about Miko Karakida. Come to that room tomorrow night.” What is the story about the shrine maiden? Ichiho goes into the school building at night. A mysterious transfer student, Rin Ukima, who appeared at the same time as the death of the shrine maiden, was waiting there.

Arakawa Ao lives happily on his own and hardly ever leaves Shimokitazawa, where he works at a vintage clothing shop, goes to occasional concerts and hangs out at his favorite bar. Then, he gets an unusual request to appear in an independent film.

Bullied at school and beaten by her mother, Taiwanese-Japanese teenager Rei runs away from home and is spontaneously taken in by Aoi, an office worker stigmatized by petty gossip. After a traumatic event binds them even closer together, the pair flee Tokyo and hide away in an abandoned inn. Together, they create a utopian space of female camaraderie and solace, but before long are forced to face reality.

When Yuki’s classmate suddenly dies, rumors begin to spread about her death and the relationships between Yuki and her classmates are disrupted amidst grief and forced normalcy.