Old age, a quiet life… and then came the voice from the north. Who is the enemy?

WATANABE Gisuke (NAGATSUKA Kyozo) is a retired French literature professor. Since his wife passed away 20 years ago, he has lived alone quietly in a traditional Japanese house passed down from his grandfather’s generation. He leads a regular life — rising at the same time and going to bed at the same time every day. He enjoys occasional company from former students, particularly TAKATSUKASA Yasuko (TAKIUCHI Kumi), for whom he prepares home-cooked meals during her visits. Aware that his savings will run out in a few years, he silently considers ending his life while he still has enough to pay for his funeral. Gisuke feels that nothing has been left undone; everything seems to have gone as planned as he lives out an uneventful life.

One day, he receives an email containing a link with a chilling message: “An enemy is coming from the north.” He initially dismisses it as a hoax, but gradually, an ominous feeling grows within him. Soon, he begins to experience haunting dreams that seem to expose his deepest sins…Is it all in his imagination? Haunted by the unknown “enemy” from the north, he loses his sense of self as his respectable facade starts to crumble…

TSUTSUI Yasutake, the original novelist, once called this work "a novel that I thought was impossible to film”. However, seasoned director YOSHIDA Daihachi (Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction, JFTFP22; The Scythian Lamb, JFTFP19; Pale Moon, JFTFP17) successfully translates the book’s deep and unconscious karma and the self that cannot let go — even in later life — into this visually striking black-and-white contemporary film.

Director Q&A: This screening will feature an in-person Q&A with director YOSHIDA Daihachi.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026 (JFTFP26) showcases some of the most unmissable Japanese films nationwide across the UK.

Explore The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

Director YOSHIDA Daihachi
Year 2023
Duration 1h 48m
Language Japanese with English Subtitles
Cast NAGATSUKA Kyozo, TAKIUCHI Kumi, KUROSAWA Asuka,