The Knot

Regent Square Theater: May 7 @ 7:30PM & May 15 @ 3:30PM

Passes not accepted on Opening/Closing Night. Please arrive at least 15 minutes ahead of start time to ensure availability of seating. Film schedule and Q & A's are subject to change.

[Film Contains Sexual Content]
2010/Japan/Director: Yuichi Onuma/91 min
Cast: Muck Akazawa, Junichi Kawamoto, So Hirosawa (Language: Japanese)
Fiery and intrepid, Yoichi Onuma’s “The Knot” is a chronicle of first love reconnected through forbidden circumstances. Newlywed, Ayako, slips into married life in quiet resilience, suppressing her unhappiness and longing for her past life. Her husband, Taro, is kind but uninspiring and works long hours leaving Ayako’s needs unmet. After moving with Taro back to their hometown to care for his ailing father, Ayako’s feelings of discontent grow stronger until an encounter with a man from her past prompts an upheaval of her persistent denial.
While running errands, Ayako sees Keisuke, the school teacher with whom she shared a passionate love affair years before. Married like Ayako, Keisuke works as a dry cleaner after rumors of their fiery romps circulated, resulting in his termination as a teacher. However, their reunion does not come with the niceties of reacquainting with an old friend as they are both plagued with the immediate desperation of passion that returns with a vengeance. Diligently and intently, Ayako distances herself, but their physical proximity consumes her and she is confronted with threat of losing Keisuke and fear of the repercussions of her own actions.
“The Knot” delicately explores the corrupt morality of adultery while also praising the courage and veracity of Ayako’s character. Director Yuichi Onuma questions the conventional rules of love and relationships through a fiercely erotic portrait, set on the backdrop of sleepy small-town Japan. The stark disparities in the lifelessness of the town against the rapidly brewing turmoil within the characters make for a suspenseful feast of revealed secrets and personal revelations.