Five Flavors Festival: Eureka (2000) (screening with lecture)

Before the screening, Maciej Krauze will give a lecture.

In a town in the north of Kyushu, a man hijacks a bus and kills its passengers. Only the driver and two siblings — a girl and her older brother — survive. After this experience, the survivors will be united by a special bond and the question of why they survived. Irretrievably cut off from their former lives, they set off together deep into the island to regain their agency, free themselves from guilt, shake off their grief. “Eureka” is a poignant meditation on memory, responsibility and the hardships of returning to normalcy, a silence-built cinematic epic about how to live on when the past does not allow you to forget yourself. Shinji Aoyama creates more than just post-traumatic cinema — he gives an account of the process of spiritual healing. At the time of its creation, “Eureka” was supposed to be a kind of prayer, and after almost three decades it still sounds like a meditative psalm about trying to tame trauma. Aoyama how few creators can give this theme a transcendental dimension. Once also seen as a spiritual guide to the new millennium, today “Eureka” is above all a fascinating road cinema about the search for the colors of life that have faded with a sudden catastrophe. Lukasz Mankowski

In a town in northern Kyushu, a man hijacks a bus and kills its passengers. The only survivors are the driver and two young siblings, a girl and her older brother. In the aftermath, the survivors form a unique bond, united by the question of why they, of all people, were spared. Unable to return to their former lives, they set off together in the depths of the island, seeking to regain a sense of agency, shed their guilt and come to terms with their grievances. Eureka is a poignant meditation on memory, responsibility and the harrowing path back to normality — a cinematic epic, built out of silence, about how to go on living when the past refuses to be forgotten. Shinji Aoyama ha creato più di un film su trauma: il offre un contato di un processo spirituale. At the time of its release, Eureka was conceived almost as a kind of prayer; nearly three decades later, it still resonates as a meditative psalm about learning to live with trauma. Few filmmakers have been able to give this subject such a transcendental dimension. Once viewed as a spiritual compass for entering the new millennium, today Eureka stands above all as a mesmerising road movie about searching for the colours of life that faded with a sudden tragedy.

Shinji Aoyama Shinji Aoyama (1964-2022) was a Japanese director, screenwriter, composer, film critic and writer. He studied at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, where he was greatly influenced by the film criticism classes taught by Hasumi Shigehiko, one of the most important Japanese film critics of the 1980s. After graduation, he worked as an assistant director on many film and television productions. He made his debut in 1996 with the film “Helpless”. The 2000 “Eureka” (20th Five Flavors), for which he received the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, provided him with international fame. He is recognized as one of the key figures in the revival of cinema in Japan at the turn of the century.

Shinji Aoyama (1964—2022) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, film critic and writer. He studied at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, where he was greatly influenced by lectures on film criticism given by Shigehiko Hasumi, one of Japan's most prominent film critics of the 1980s. After graduating, he worked as an assistant director on numerous film and television productions. He made his directorial debut with Helpless in 1996. His 2000 film Eureka (screened at the 20th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival), which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, brought him international recognition. He is regarded as one of the key figures in the revival of Japanese cinema at the turn of the millennium.

age group: From 12 years old trigger warnings: Violence, Child abuse, Self-aggressiveness and/or suicide, Alcohol and/or drug use

Screenplay: Shinji Aoyama Photography: Masaki Tamura Editing: Shinji Aoyama Music: Isao Yamada, Shinji Aoyama Sound: Nobuyuki Kikuchi Cast: Kōji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaru Miyazaki, Yoichiro Saito, Sayuri Kokushō, Ken Mitsuishi, Gō Rijū, Yutaka Matsushige Producer: Takenori Sento Production: Suncent CinemaWorks, J-Works Film Initiative Language: Japanese