Yocho (Foreboding)

Something’s wrong and Etsuko is one of the first to notice. It’s not just the sky that looks different, Etsuko suddenly begins hearing strange noises and an increasing number of inexplicable things are happening around her: mirror surfaces are distorting and people’s behaviour is changing. They keep dropping things and their arms seem to be aching. When Miyuki thinks she sees a ghost in her father and newscasters begin predicting incessant rain on a global scale, all the signs seem to indicate that the end of the world is nigh.
Renowned, multi-award-winning Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s sedate dystopian science fiction tale about an extra-terrestrial doctor sneaks up on the viewer unawares. The latter intends to steal no less than our human concepts of ‘family’, dignity’ and ‘fear’. Exhibiting an extraordinary flair for the depiction of strange spaces as well as the use of colour and light, Kurosawa relishes constructing set-pieces borrowed from the genres of the thriller, horror film and apocalyptic drama to create his unnerving vision. Based on a mini-series with the same title, Yocho (Foreboding) was also conceived as a companion piece to Kurosawa’s film Sanpo Suru Shinryakusya.
by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
with Kaho, Shota Sometani, Masahiro Higashide, Ren Osugi
Japan 2017 Japanese 140’

With

  • Kaho (Etsuko Yamagiwa)
  • Shota Sometani (Tatsuo Yamagiwa)
  • Masahiro Higashide (Shiro Makabe)
  • Ren Osugi (Nishizaki)

Crew

Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Screenplay Hiroshi Takahashi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa based on the original play „Before We Vanish“ by Tomohiro Maekawa
Cinematography Akiko Ashizawa
Editing Koichi Takahashi
Music Yusuke Hayashi
Sound Shinji Watanabe
Production Design Norifumi Ataka
Costumes Haruki Koketsu
Make-Up HAMA
Assistant Director Taro Nishiyama
Production Manager Akira Sagara
Producers Takehiko Aoki, Tomomi Takashima, Yumi Arakawa, Nobuhiro Iizuka
Executive Producers Eiji Omura, Yosuke Miyake

World sales

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Produced by

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Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Born in Kōbe in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan in 1955. He shot his first 8mm films while studying sociology and made his feature film debut in 1983 with The Kandagawa Pervert Wars. His film License to Live screened in the 1999 Berlinale Forum. His TV miniseries Penance was presented at the Venice, Toronto and Busan film festivals as well as in cinemas. He received the Best Director award in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for Journey to the Shore. His film Creepy was invited to the Berlinale Special in 2016; Foreboding premiered in Panorama in 2018.

Filmography (selection)

1983 Kandagwa inran sensô (The Kandagawa Pervert Wars) 1997 Kyua (Cure) 1999 Karisuma (Charisma) · Ningen Gôkaku (License to Live) · Ôinaru Gen'ei (Barren Illusion) 2001 Kairo (Pulse) 2003 Akarui mirai (Bright Future) · Dopperugengâ (Doppelgänger) 2005 Rofuto (Loft) 2008 Tôkyô sonata 2012 Shokuzai (Penance); TV series 2013 Riaru: Kanzen Naru Kubinagaryû No Hi (Real) · Sebunsu Kôdo (Seventh Code) 2014 Kishibe No Tabi (Journey to the Shore) 2016 Kurîpî: Itsuwari No Rinjin (Creepy) · Dagereotaipu No Onna (Daguerrotype) 2017 Sanpo Suru Shinryakusya (Before We Vanish) · Yocho (Foreboding) 2019 Tabi no Owari Sekai no Hajimari (To the Ends of the Earth) 2020 Supai no Tsuma (Wife of a Spy) 2024 Chime

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024