Festival
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Humanity and Paper Balloons
In a cramped slum district of the Edo period, the suicide of an impoverished samurai casts a dark shadow over a community already struggling with poverty, crime, and social decline. Among its residents is Unno, a former samurai barely scraping by, whose wife makes the paper balloons that give the film its title.
Unno still clings to the belief that the old samurai code of honour has meaning, and hopes that Mori, a low-ranking samurai whose position was once secured by Unno’s late father, will come to his aid. But Mori has little interest in honouring old obligations.
Meanwhile, the barber Shinzo runs illegal gambling games and becomes involved in a plan to kidnap Omoka, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Omoka is being forced into an arranged marriage with a noble samurai, despite being in love with someone else. When Shinzo hides her in Unno’s house, the different lives of the neighbourhood collide, setting off a chain of betrayals and increasingly desperate choices.