Over the past decade, Iwai Shunji has departed from his original style to expand his repertoire to documentaries, animation & English-language efforts. The auteur finally returns to the filmmaking style & themes that first made him famous in the long-awaited A Bride for Rip Van Winkle. Starring award-winning actress Kuroki Haru ( The Little House), Ayano Go ( Shinjuku Swan) & singer Cocco ( Kotoko), Iwais first Japanese live-action narrative feature in 12 years is adapted from his own novel about a lonely young woman who is shaken awake from her placid life & thrown into a journey guided by her yearning to make a connection.
Timid part-time teacher Nanami (Kuroki Haru) has little going on for her in life besides spending too much time on her favorite online network. Through social media, she meets Tetsuya (Jibiki Go), & the two begin dating & quickly get engaged. Uneasy about her lack of guests to invite to the wedding, Nanami seeks the help of online fixer Amuro (Ayano Go) to hire extras to pose as relatives. Soon after the wedding, she begins to suspect that her husband is having an affair, but her mother-in-law accuses her first of cheating. Her marriage broken, Nanami suddenly finds herself without a husband or a job, but Amuro is again on hand to arrange odd jobs for her. Nanami eventually takes up a job as a live-in maid at a strange unoccupied mansion where she develops a close bond with fellow housekeeper Mashiro (Cocco).
This edition comes with the 179-minute Directors Cut of the film, a 12-minute Iwai Shunji interview (English subtitled) & 92-minutes of making-of footage. It also comes with five postcards, a notebook & an owl origami.