Synopsis

Kodokushi or the lonely death has become common in Japan. The director confronts the silence on the subject through encounters with a man who cleans the apartments of those who die alone, a photographer who documents the aftermath of kodokushi, an elderly woman fiercely protective of her independence even in old age, and an artist who sings to pierce the stillness around her. By examining the quiet and lonely death, this film becomes a meditation on life itself.

Director

• 

  Janus Victoria
  

  Viva Viva Escolta (2016)
  Aurora, My Aurora (2012)
  Visit (2009)
  Hopia Express (2006)

  One of the characteristics of Tokyo that made a deep impression on me is how quiet it is. The famous neon lights at night may lead one to think that the city is loud but once this distraction is turned off, the silence becomes palpable—all the more so during the day. In the subway, no one takes a call.
  Even in the global fastfood chains--even with kids around--it is still somehow quiet. I felt silence is part of the culture. It is a way of respecting individual space; and more importantly, it is a way of erecting invisible boundaries that, as I've come to learn, can lead to extremely isolated existences in a metropolis of 13 million people.

Review

We all must die sometime. The death is the most clear and sharp event that could prove man is an independent being. The life accepts the death and activates it from the first moment, which is a logical result of the life. But the life is a journey with someone, but the death is a lonely one that we have to endure by ourselves. If we have a person who watches us beside the sickbed, and if the person has been a friend in the journey of life, who shared experiences and intimacy, we could bravely continue along this path until the last minute. We could say: we had leaded a meaningful life, and we could peacefully die with a smile. We are living in an age when we cannot hold the last ritual, which had been natural in the past. Health technology has prolonged the desired life time and also makes us suffer the death of friends about the same age. It is not uncommon to dissociate people from their family and other relationships, as living conditions become worse. The peaceful and dignified death is necessary to all of us and it is a public political issue, as the peaceful and safe life. To die alone and to die with the family and friends at his or her side, they are much the same thing. The secret words regarding 'to die alone', which we have to reveal out. <Encounters with Silence> is a silent and an earnest suggestion on the theme of death.. [Kim Young-ok]

Credits

• Director, Cinematographer  Janus Victoria
• Producer  Masumi Soga
• Editor  Mirana Medina, Janus Victoria, Silver Belen
• Music  Silver Belen
• Sound  Jonathan Hee

Contribution & World Sales

• Contribution & World Sales  Janus Victoria
• E-Mail  janus.victoria@gmail.com