“The Blind Willow and the Sleeping Woman” will be made into the first full-length animated film based on Haruki Murakami’s original work! Scheduled to be released on Friday, July 26th!! First Japanese visual and trailer released!Haruki Murakami’s first full-length animated film, “The Blind Willow and the Sleeping Woman,” will be released nationwide on July 26, 2024 (Friday) at Eurospace and other theaters. This time, the Japanese version visual and trailer video have been released for the first time.

This work is based on six short stories by Haruki Murakami (The Frog Saves Tokyo'', Birthday Girl”, Kaitsuburi'', The Wind-up Bird and the Tuesday Woman”) by musician and animator Pierre Foldes. This work is an adaptation of The UFO Descends in Kushiro'', Blind Willow and the Sleeping Woman”).

Due to the earthquake, people who did not even realize that their lives were at a standstill begin to realize the truth within themselves and awaken. Some are about irreplaceable encounters, while others are about experiences of decisive separation.

At the same time, we have received a comment from Motoyuki Shibata, an American literature scholar and translator who has co-authored the book with Haruki Murakami.

Director Foldes says, “I couldn’t imagine not using a novel that stirs up emotions that are so delicate that words can’t be put into words, and that are so profound that you can’t even imagine them.” They live in a single flow without losing their beauty and rhythm.

Director Foldes says that he aimed for an atmosphere in which mysterious things constantly raise questions, and he calls it “live animation,” which involves filming the movements of actual actors and incorporating them into the animation movements. By instilling reality through original methods, a unique worldview has been created.

The Japanese version visuals that have been released center around “Kaeru-kun,” who is very popular among readers, and include characters such as Komura, Katagiri, and Kyoko. Also, pay attention to the cat (Watanabe Noboru, familiar to fans) that snuggles up to the frog.

Furthermore, in the trailer, you can get a glimpse of the charm of this work, which seamlessly takes you from the ordinary to the extraordinary, with the unique sensibilities of director Foldes, who is well versed in various arts such as music and painting.

“I wanted to tell a slightly magical story in a unique way, where the ordinary everyday world is shaken by dramatic events that occur both in reality and in the inner world. I feel that animation is the perfect method to show life, because everything has to be recreated from scratch, which creates a disconnection with reality.This need for shifting and transition is what inspires me as a director. As the director says, It's essential to our approach.'' This is a story of Japan” that could only be realized through animation.

Every story and movie is, to a greater or lesser degree, a device that opens the gate that has been erected between reality and imagination, the outside world and the inner world, the real world and dreams, but this movie especially focuses on that role. He performs his work gracefully, deeply and lightly.

July 26th (Friday) Eurospace and other national roadshows

Tokyo in 2011. Five days after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Kyoko, who had been watching TV news reporting the damage every moment, disappeared from Komura, leaving behind a letter. Shocked by his wife’s sudden disappearance, Komura unexpectedly heads to Hokkaido to deliver a small box with unknown contents to the woman.

One evening around the same time, when Komura’s colleague Katagiri returned home, a gigantic two-meter frog was waiting for him. In order to save Tokyo from the next earthquake that is approaching, Frog-kun asks for help from Katagiri, who is modest and timid.

Blind willows, giant earthworms, mysterious small boxes, and dark hallways that go on forever — the aftermath of a major earthquake transforms into distant memories and dreams that creep into the hearts of Komura, Kyoko, and Katagiri. Will they be able to regain their true selves after getting stuck in life?

2022/109 minutes/Co-produced by France, Luxembourg, Canada, and the Netherlands

Director/Screenplay: Pierre Fordes

Original work: Haruki Murakami ((The Frog Saves Tokyo'', The Birthday Girl”, Kaitsuburi'', The Wind-up Bird and the Women of Tuesday”, A UFO Descends in Kushiro'', Sleeping with the Blind Willows”) woman”)

Voice Cast: Ryan Bommarito, Shoshanna Bilder, Marcelo Arroyo, Scott Humphrey, Arthur Holden, Pierre Foldes

Original title: “Saules Aveugles, Femme Endormie” / English title: “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman”

Distribution: Eurospace, Interfilm, New Deer, Lepro Entertainment

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