Roleless

A samurai gets into an ambush. After a short fight he remains victorious, but one of his attackers can escape. The latter escapes around the next corner, where a young woman gives him a new hat. He is ready for his next fight in a different role and we find ourselves on a movie set. The interchangeability of his film character shows that Miyamatsu is not one of the most important protagonists here, as an extra his function is arbitrary, sometimes he is a swordsman, sometimes a yakuza, mostly he has to die, if need be several times. It seems as if Miyamatsu is absorbed in this role, as if he is just looking for the lack of his own identity. In his day job he works for a cable car company, not the most exciting of tasks. Often the perception blurs between the individual role-plays, what was real and where was he able to empathize so much that the game becomes the new reality? His desired lack of relationship to self and others is thrown into confusion when an old acquaintance shows up, one who knows more about Miyamatsu's past than Miyamatsu himself.

Three directors are responsible for Roleless: Masahiko SATO, Yutaro SEKI and Kentaro HIROSE. Together they have been working as a team for a long time and call themselves gogatsu. This is their first feature film, which premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival.