Synopsis
Adapted from the Kakuta Mitsuyo’s best-selling novel, this film made a drama of women revealing their love and the strength to survive. Kiwako sneaks into the home of Takehiro whom she had an affair with, and kidnaps his new born baby, Erina. Following this incident, Kiwako endlessly moves throughout Japan while raising Erina as if she was her own daughter for the next four years until she is finally arrested.

Program Note
Rebirth is based on a novel by KAKUTA Mitsuyo, who has been highly regarded for her feminist works. The original work searches for a subversive approach to various relationships, including motherhood, and the problem of identity formed by such relationships. From its publication, the novel has created a sensation among readers and the literature world as well as in the feminism camp and academic world, and its evidently solid storyline encouraged its TV drama production well before filming took place. The movie version of Rebirth was adapted by OKUDERA Satoko, who is known for Moving and Permanent Nobara , and stars outstanding actresses such as NAGASAKU Hiromi, INOUE Mao, KOIKE Eiko, and MORIGUCHI Yoko, each of whom shows a substantial presence in the film. In short, we need to focus on how delicately a male director uses cinematic techniques like the close-up, long shot, and handheld, and what kind of ensemble he creates among female original author, female screenwriter, and actresses. In addition, costume plays an important role in the film because it challenges existing “feminine” signifiers or correspondence with “masculinity”; instead, it simply visualizes, in concentrated form, the theme of the work, while its concerns about femininity, identity, and living itself are undeterred by the male(and the structure that men built). [LEE Yumi]