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Director: Eguchi Yukiko Assistance: Ota Hisako, Shinbori Manami, Ohashi Yuki, Maruyama Moweru, Kuroiwa Yoshiko, Matsumaru Takehiko, Ogawa Masato, Osugi Yoshihiro, Ichikawa Jin'ichiro, Sasaki Tokuko, Sato Jurie, Kirihara Hiromi 1987 / Color / 8mm / 49 min |
| In this private documentary produced as a graduate project at the Tama Art University, Eguchi Yukiko searches for her own identity. The film begins with her wondering whether her mother might somehow be the cause of her own obsessive cleanliness. It then goes on to tell of her mother's life with a voice-over narration as the camera tracks the places she had lived, from Miyazaki to Yokohama. Next the facts of her mother's marriage and Yukiko's birth are exposed. Because her mother was Korean, she was unable to register her daughter's birth and thus Yukiko was born illegitimate. Her mother went from man to man, and moved from place to place, giving birth to three children, each with different fathers. Yukiko's memories of the past and her mother's recollections alternate, gradually building up into a story. As a child, Yukiko was unable to warm to her stepfather. Her mother sensed this, but was unable to resolve the situation. Now she is afflicted with obsessive cleanliness and self-hatred. She begins to feel troubled by being told she has come to resemble her mother, and at this point, the large role of her maternal grandmother becomes evident. In the process of learning how greatly her mother was affected by her grandmother's disorderly life, Yukiko seems to arrive at a new understanding of her mother. A question she asks her mother, just by chance, enables her to see her mother's life from a fresh perspective. The film does not, however, draw definite conclusions about the relationship between mother and daughter. |