"Water always flows downhill."
Vancouver International Film Festival
Essentially a pared-down, slightly reworked 75-minute retelling of Hamaguchi's latest ecological drama that also screened at VIFF last year, Gift as a project was actually conceived first before he decided to also capture parallel material to edit into a more conventional narrative seen in the exceptional Evil Does Not Exist. His close collaboration with Ishibashi birthed this live musical performance which has been only performed a handful of times in different cities so far.
Designed to only ever be viewed accompanied by Ishibashi's score performed live, Gift makes for a unique viewing experience of the powerful environmental drama as an otherwise silent film. Much of the story remains told less enigmatically but audiences can focus squarely on the atmospheric tone and mood of residents skeptical of a possible new luxury campground development that threatens their town's delicate ecosystem.
As a one-off performance, Gift exists and works as its own parable of Japanese life in nature and a warning against disrupting the natural ecosystem of the secluded woods. Hamaguchi and Ishibashi's wonderful musically cinematic collaboration continues to bear fruit. It's an especially unique performance and screening experience of a haunting Japanese tale.
Gift screened at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival as part of its series of specially curated live events.
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