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I suppose I've missed the plane to Osaka. Is it too late?
No, it's delayed.
By three hours. You're lucky.
Did you forget to take something out?
- No, I'm no longer sure I want to leave. - Oh, really?
It's an 11-hour flight.
- Have you been before? - No, it's my first time.
SIDONIE IN JAPAN
Show me your passport please.
- How long are you staying in Japan ? - Six days.
- What is the reason for your trip? - They are republishing my first book.
- Are you a writer ? - Yes and no.
Do you have any proof ?
- Any proof ? - Yes. A proof.
This.
Hello.
Welcome to Japan, Sidonie San.
- Hello. Do you work with my publisher? - No, I am your publisher.
I'm Kenzo Mizoguchi.
I'm sorry, didn't expect you to be so... tall.
I pictured you to be very old.
I mean, either that or very young.
Pleased to meet you.
I would rather carry my own handbag.
I'd rather if.
Thank you.
The room isn't ready. They're sorry.
Ah, Is that all? I was scared...
But that doesn't matter at all! I'm not tired,
...even if for me, it's six in the morning.
You mustn't bow, Sidonie San.
I'm not doing it properly, is that it?
- Could I offer you a tea? - Yes.
Are you related to the famous filmmaker?
Not at all. Mizoguchi is quite a common name in Japan.
This afternoon, we'll start the interviews.
Then, we'll visit a temple. You'll have more time tomorrow.
- Perfect, I'll go for a walk alone. - You will never be alone, Sidonie San.
I'm used to being alone. It doesn't bother me, quite the opposite.
No. I will always be with you.
No one can open the windows. That's for safety reasons.
- Safety ? - Yes.
Accident prevention.
Thank you.
I'm telling you the window is open.
Did you like to come up and see for yourself ?
That's impossible. I will send you the repairman.
Europeans wear perfume, especially the women.
Japanese women do not.
- Does it bother you? - No, not at all.
I love the perfume of western women.
It reminds me of my studies in France.
Is that why you speak French?
Among other reasons. Yes.
What did you study in France?
I studied French literature for three years.
I lived in Motte-Picquet.
- Were you at the Sorbonne? - Yes.
Sidonie San, please let me introduce Noriko Tamaguchi,
who will be your interpreter today.
- Hello. Pleased to meet you. - Pleasure to meet you too.
I admire you a lot. I've read all your books
and I've even seen your play La Femme de Papier ,
first in Paris and then in New York.
Does it represent the cherry blossom?
Yes, maybe.
Why did you choose to tell this story in particular?
I lost my parents and brother in a car accident.
I ended up alone, in total solitude, as if I had fallen down a hole,
I was scared.
But even though the book was inspired by my story, it isn't an autobiography.
It's fiction.
Would you say that writing heals?
It doesn't heal but perhaps it helped me survive at that time.
I read that you don't want to talk about your books anymore.
So, why did you agree to come
to Japan today, for the new edition of L'Ombre Portée ?
Mister Mizoguchi wrote me a wonderful letter that convinced me...
And also, this book occupies a special place for me
because it is the very first book I wrote.
As a child, I used to walk in the marshes with my parents on Sundays.
We have the same birds in France.
They're everywhere in Kyoto.
I didn't want to wake you up, you seemed so tired.
You have lovely hands.
My wife also tells me they are special.
Is that your trademark?
Trademark? I don't understand.
A trademark is what characterises you.
It's what makes you the person you are.
For example, if you were a Lacoste polo shirt,
your trademark would be a little green crocodile.
But I'm not a piece of clothing, I'm a man.
Antoine ?
Madame ? Are you looking for your luggage ?
No, for my husband.
Dad! Mum!
Guillaume!
My Sido!
I thought I'd lost you.
I can't sleep.
Are you okay, Kenzo?
I'm sorry.
I've drunk a bit this evening.
We like drinking whisky, without ice.
It's my wife.
Do you know why
it never worked out between me and my wife?
It's because I am absent and boring.
And do you know why, Sidonie San?
Because you work too much?
Yes... and when we are together,
we hardly speak.
It's been a long time since we've had anything to say to each other.
Nothing.
Zero.
What's all this mess?
It's before my eyes, here, my window is open again.
And all my set meal has been eaten.
I don't understand. Who has eaten that meal ?
Well, that's the problem. I don't know !
Okay.
How did you handle your fame at such a young age?
I was lucky enough to meet the man
who would become my husband very early on
and he protected me a lot.
Please, Noriko, do you think I've got time to go get a breath of fresh air,
or do we have to resume now?
You want us to carry on, is that it?
Sidonie San, do you need anything?
Sorry, I...
No, no.
Thank you.
These are special cakes that we eat at full moon.
- Is the moon important in Japan? - Yes, very important.
Your book gave me the strength to live after my entire family died
and to leave my husband
because he wanted to stay near Fukushima.
My daughter and I left to move to a safer area.
What about your husband?
We are separated.
That's a sad story.
It's a climatic separation.
Have you always wanted to write?
No. Writing is what happens when you've nothing left.
There's just despair.
But sometimes, there isn't even that.
There's just nothing.
You disclose everything, Sidonie San.
No, not everything.
But I try to.
We're not used to that.
In Japan, we keep our feelings to ourselves.
Not always.
You confided in me yesterday night.
Yes.
But we were alone.
What do you think? Do they suit me?
If you like them, that's what counts.
Oh, yes, I love them. I've never seen a pair like this in France.
It's almost unreal, my being here.
I really hesitated before accepting your invitation.
I was scared, I think.
Of the unknown.
I don't know what's happening to me.
Maybe it's because I haven't been as far for a long time.
And because I recognise everything here.
The lifts, the lights, the roads.
And yet, nothing works the way it does in Europe.
Everything is strange,
even the consistency of what we eat is different.
I feel modified.
All this newness is overwhelming me.
Please don't cry, Sidonie San.
They're tears of joy, not sadness.
Why do you no longer write, Sidonie San?
After the death of my husband Antoine,
it gathered all my strength just to try to keep standing.
Time passed and I didn't even realise I was no longer writing.
The years flew by.
But did you try later on?
Yes, I tried, but I'd plunge back into the repetition of my life
and of a book already written for me, L'Ombre Portée ...
The same words, the same...
I found it unbearable.
How did your husband die?
The same way as my family.
We had a car accident.
My husband died on the spot and once again, nothing happened to me.
I woke up scotch free, not even a mark.
Intact.
You are alive, Sidonie San.
You have to accept it. You have no choice.
Do you have children?
No. And you?
No. I don't have any and don't want any.
I find the world absurd.
Your words are like a secret echo to my story.
Have you lost loved ones?
My father's family died in Hiroshima.
Only my father survived that day.
He had gone to see a friend in another town.
Later, my brother and his wife were living in Kobe.
I had just left Kobe
when the earthquake that killed them occurred.
It's like a story
that keeps repeating itself.
So, that's why you wrote that people like us share a secret land.
This is the tomb of Junichirō Tanizaki and his wife.
It's very minimalist.
I didn't know he was buried in Kyoto.
What does it say?
"Nothing"
and "silenc e".
All those wires are crazy.
In France you never see that many, they bury them.
I heard that it was because of the earthquakes.
That it's easier to fix them this way.
- Do they happen often? - Very rarely in Kyoto.
Who are you?
My room... there's a problem.
I want to change.
No, no, no... Room, problem.
Mariko San, can you come here? There's a problem with the western lady.
Mariko San, hurry please.
I don't understand what she's saying and she doesn't seem well.
I want to change rooms, I don't want to stay in that room.
I-don't-actually-want-to-go-back-in-there.
What is she doing?
- What are we going to do? - We have to warn Mr Mizoguchi.
Good idea.
Kenzo, I saw my husband in my room in flesh and blood.
That's why I left.
You mean you saw his ghost.
Do you believe in ghosts?
In Japan, they live all around us.
If he's here, it's because you still have things to say to each other.
I'm a bit too old for them, aren't I?
I don't know, you might not be, Sidonie San.
Nothing.
Nothing on the toilet either.
Thank you Kenzo. For everything.
Call me immediately if something is wrong,
but now please go to sleep, Sidonie San.
Thank you, Kenzo.
You're not going to run away this time, I hope.
I've been appearing little by little. I didn't want to scare you.
I have been seeing you everywhere since I got here.
That's because we're in Japan.
It's the land of ghosts.
- Like that other guy said! - How do you know?
- That guy is called Kenzo Mizoguchi. - Is he related to the famous filmmaker?
No, I already asked. It's a very common name in Japan.
Antoine, it is really you?
Sidonie.
My Sido.
I've dreamed of seeing you again so much.
I've always been here, but you couldn't see me... all those years...
I haven't changed too much, have I?
No, my Sido
You're still just as beautiful with all your freckles.
You told me you hated that jumper.
That you weren't a harlequin and you'd never wear it.
I wanted to please you.
Why are you dead, Antoine?
You know why, because that deer crossed the road.
But why am I not dead?
That's just the way it is. Probably the way it was meant to be.
- I'd rather have died in your place. - You don't know that.
I know, but surviving everything, all the time.
My darling, you'll die one day too. Just to reassure you.
It's him.
Hide in the bathroom, quick. Or he'll see you.
Don't panic, nobody can see or hear me except you.
How are you, Sidonie San?
Everything alright?
The taxi is waiting downstairs.
Did you see him again?
Yes, this morning. He told me he had always been there.
Of course. I told you, ghosts live all around us.
I am happy to see you.
Me too.
It moved me.
I am delighted to meet you.
- To? - He's delighted to meet you.
My name is Tadanobu.
- Do you have plans for your next book? - No.
I would love to know what happens to this character.
Sorry, there's nothing for now.
Maybe she'll try again. Be patient.
I'll carry it in my bag.
Thank you.
Do you remember this journal?
It is my treasure.
- What's her name? - Sayuri.
Here you go.
Sidonie San, is everything alright?
There it is.
Let's try again.
Oh, you scared me.
Look, that guy is a real laugh.
Smile!
We eat the cake first and then we drink the tea.
- Are these the moon cakes? - Yes.
You're supposed to eat them when the moon is bright and full.
In some families, like my father's, this was a moment when we came together.
We would gather round and celebrate.
My wife didn't like my family.
She has gone to her sister's.
I'm sorry.
It's probably for the best.
We were living a lie.
My husband and I used to love this season.
We liked walking in the forest.
How did you meet?
It was right after the death of my whole family.
It was summer and all my friends had gone on holiday.
Except for Jeanne. I was at her place when her brother dropped by with a friend.
It was Antoine.
We had a wonderful afternoon. Antoine was a great laugh.
I hadn't had such a good time in a long while.
At the end of the day, Antoine and I left together.
I told him what had happened to me, the accident and my parents' death.
And that I wanted to write it all down but I didn't know where to start.
He told me: "from the beginning."
It was a silly thing to say
but I think I wrote L'Ombre Portée thanks to those words.
We got to my place and I suggested he come up to see my flat.
I remember I was tired from walking.
He carried me up the stairs.
He literally carried me up the stairs in his arms...
Nothing had changed in the apartment since my parents' death.
He told me that I couldn't carry on living like that.
We cleared the place all night, the two of us, without speaking.
We saw each other the next day and the day after that.
And we never left each other again.
Without him, I would never have had the strength to write.
He had lovely hands like you.
Love at first sight?
No.
More like something obvious.
I loved him.
That's rare.
Yes. What's obvious is rare.
And happiness too.
Are your parents still alive?
Just my father.
He's gone back to live in Hiroshima.
He lives with them.
- Them? - He lives with his family. The deceased.
Every morning he talks to them and feeds them.
- Can ghosts eat? - No.
My father offers them a meal and then he eats it.
What do you think of all that?
I think he feels deep sadness.
He prefers living in the past.
We all have a some kind of relationship with the deceased.
Some see them, others feel them.
The visible and invisible world coexist.
It's like that for us Japanese.
Ghosts help us live.
Thank you, Kenzo. For everything.
My pleasure.
Would you like to have dinner together this evening?
No, I'd rather stay in my room. I want to rest.
219.
Next door.
I'll explain you how the room works. How to switch on the lights.
- Do you understand ? - Yes.
I'll show you where the lights are in the bathroom
because they can be difficult to find.
I turn on the tap to show you.
Are you all right ?
I'm sorry. I didn't get all that.
I'm showing you again how to do. This is very easy as you can see.
- Are you all right ? - Yes, I'm OK. I just get a little hot.
Air conditioning is there, at the entrance.
- I see. - I hope you'll have a good stay.
And thank you very much.
Antoine ?
I don't have any...
I've no substance left.
So I can't even touch you.
There's almost nothing left of me.
I forgot what touch was a long time ago.
But I can see and hear you, Antoine.
I'm not dreaming.
All I have left are the contours of reality.
I am an illusion, an optical illusion.
That's even worse than a cold, empty bed.
Why did you come back?
I didn't come back. I just never left, Sidonie.
I can't.
Why not?
Probably because it's difficult to leave you in this endless heartache.
Would you rather I forgot you?
That I just get over it?
- Isn't your heart broken too? - It is.
But I'm tired of staying here, going round in circles.
It's exhausting.
Where are you when you're not here?
I am nowhere.
Why didn't you want children with me, Antoine?
You loved me, didn't you?
You loved me.
Of course I did.
I just didn't want a little killjoy around.
I didn't want to share you.
Are you asleep?
It's true that I'm full of grief.
And I can't get over it.
I'm sorry I let you down, my friend.
You're eating?
But ghosts don't eat.
I do.
Sorry, Kenzo, but we're not alone.
Do you have any regrets, Kenzo?
No, I don't.
Although I would have liked life to be less brutal.
I'm happy to have met you.
Me too.
We could have met in Paris when you were a student.
Maybe we did meet.
Everything would have been different.
It's as if we were on Capri, in Italy.
The Japanese have always been masters of imitation.
THE COUNTRY WE LIVE IN DOES NOT EXIST.
It's protection against the sun...
But there is no sun.
Oh, you're just wearing one earring.
Oh, yeah!
I love your hand.
A writer's hand.
Oh, you don't write with your hands...
Is it here, then?
You mustn't think you're a lone spirit.
You're a woman like any other.
What were you doing in the dark?
Were you hiding? You no longer want to see me?
You're not really you anymore.
I'll cross over to the other side soon.
What do you mean exactly?
The river.
That separates the living from the dead.
But isn't that an image we invented?
Have you seen it? Do you know where it is?
Yes, I have seen it.
It exists.
It exists everywhere.
And what lies beyond?
Rest at least, I hope.
- I'm scared of what's next. - Yes, I know.
But you mustn't be.
I am not afraid.
I aspire to it even.
I dreamt a lot last night. It was confusing.
I never dream.
And I saw Antoine again.
He was almost transparent.
As if he were fading away...
You see him because you want to. That only depends on you, Sidonie San.
I miss Naoshima already.
We'll come back one day.
Are you alright?
My heart just missed a beat...
"You're nothing like him. No."
"You are a writer who does not write."
"And who does not read either."
I'm going to let you get some rest. Someone is expecting you...
Please, I let you handle my case, I need some fresh air. Thank you.
Antoine!
"Every day, like a prisoner of the past,
all I see is death everywhere,
shadows sliding along the walls, on the furniture,
and the wind rushing to fill the empty space.
I know why I tried to keep him alive.
It was to keep him with me.
But there's a time to let the dead leave and die
if we want to live again.
I am me again, like finding a long lost friend."
I dreamed I was kissing you.
I thought about you a lot too. I missed you.
I missed you too. A lot.
Sidonie...
It's been years.
We're the same.
I want to make love to you.
We don't say that in Japan. We do it, that's all.
You are beautiful.
Your eyes are so big.
I've never seen such big eyes.
Are they so big to look the world right in the face?
They're that big.
I never thought about that.
It's the first time anybody has said that to me.
You have lovely slanted eyes, that's beautiful.
No-one knows what you're thinking.
We can't read what's behind them.
And yet we saw each other.
I love it when you look me in the eyes.
It's very impolite for us
to look a lady in the eye when you don't know her.
You know me now.
No, I re-cognise you.
I'm going to leave very quickly, I don't like goodbyes.
Well... Hello, then.