Komorebitatchi

Directed by Masanori Omori

This delicate film, shot in a region with a strong Shinto tradition, tries to capture the Shinto emphasis on man's harmony with nature. Without explaining, the film depicts rituals associated with the felling and planting of trees, which are seen as living beings. The film gives equal time to human actions, restrained discourse, trees, the wind and the sunlight, which almost mystically always enters the ritual at exactly the right time.