Inori
Japanese with English subtitles
Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Pedro González-Rubio Producer: Naomi Kawase Production Company: Nara International Film Festival Recording: Osamu Takizawa Sound Editor: Uriel Esquenazi Original Score: Héctor Ruiz Principal Cast: Sakae Fukui, Shigefumi Kotani, Tetsuo Yanase, Ryo Ikeo, Noriko Ikeo
The word inori in Japanese means “prayer, adoration, invocation,” and in this spirit director Pedro González-Rubio has created a breathtaking ode to a disappearing way of life. In the small mountain community of Kannogawa, Japan, the laws of nature reshape the human blueprint of what used to be a lively village. While the younger generations have migrated to the cities, the few people left perform their everyday activities with a brave perspective on their history and the cycles of life. With stunning images of this lush mountainous region, the film mystically transports the viewer to another time.
Surrounded by sublime landscapes and living by the times and rhythms dictated by nature, they’re as close to god as humans on earth can be. Sara Vizcarrondo, SFIFF
La palabra inori en japonés significa ‘’rezar, adoración, invocación,’’ y esto se demuestra en el espíritu que el director Pedro González-Rubio ha creado mediante este emotivo poema visual que retrata un estilo de vida que está a punto de desaparecer. En una pequeña comunidad de Kannogawa, Japan, las leyes de la naturaleza han transformado la vida del pueblo. Las nuevas generaciones emigraron hacia las grandes ciudades, los habitantes restantes desarrollan sus actividades cotidianas mientras reflexionan sobre su propia historia y los ciclos de la vida. Con hermosas imágenes de esta región montañosa, la cinta transporta al espectador, místicamente, hacia otro tiempo.
Pedro González-Rubio is a Mexican filmmaker born in 1976. He studied Media Arts in Mexico City before attending the London Film School. His solo directorial debut, Alamar (To the Sea), received more than fifteen international prizes, including Rotterdam’s Tiger Award. Inori won the Golden Leopard Award at the Locarno Film Festival and Best Mexican Documentary at Morelia.