The
80-year-old Noppori Ayumu, who
has spent three-quarters of
his life at home with health
problems, wakes up one morning
as a 20-year-old. The film enters
his fantasy, showing him as
the young man he believes himself
to be played by Yusuke
Iseya, last seen as the obstinate
punk in Kore-eda's After
Life.
Of
course, everyone else (including
his home nurse, Narisu, who
has emotional problems of her
own) still sees him as a troublesome
and querulous old man.
Director
Isshin Inudo, a veteran of four
previous indie features and
countless TV commercials, explores
the space between Ayumu's fantasies
and reality with seamless, glossy
precision.
Based
on a well-known manga by Yumiko
Oshima, Across A Golden
Prairie actualises a
bizarre but perhaps not so unusual
fantasy of second childhood.