Carm's corner

About a month ago, I found out about the Japanese Film Festival Online and was waiting for the opportunity to watch the films that started streaming online last Tuesday (at 9pm in my time zone).

There are 23 films that will be broadcast for two weeks. Honestly, I don't think I have the time or energy to watch them all, although I'd love to. This week, for example, I had to go to the office on Tuesday and Wednesday, as I have to do every six weeks. And, as always when I have to go, I end up exhausted.

On Tuesday I chose to watch a not very long movie from the line up, The Lone Ume Tree (梅切らぬバカ, 2021), and I enjoyed it a lot, although it made me feel a certain melancholy and sadness at times.

Yesterday, I definitely didn't have the mental energy to watch a movie, but today I decided to finish work half an hour early, because I was actually dealing with the distraction that the exhaustion of going to the office always leaves me with, a kind of mental hangover after two days of long commutes, sensory overstimulation and masking (in the austism sense, the other kind of masking is actually good, please, wear masks) until my brain is jelly. So I decided that today I would try to relax a little.

I just watched The Zen Diary (土を喰らう十二ヵ月, 2022), and I loved it so much. It was precisely what I needed today. It conveys so much peace, and it's very contemplative. I loved the cinematography and the fact that nothing really happens beside the time passing and the protagonist harvesting, foraging and cooking. It has some beautiful words too. like this quote: "Humans are strange animals. Tastes and scents can unexpectedly trigger memories. The food we eat comes from the soul of the earth and over time the earth and the tastes intertwine." I hope I can find this film later to rewatch it at some point.

I hope I can watch as many of the movies as possible.