Still grieving the tragic loss of her fiancé Itsuki Fujii in a mountain climbing accident, Hiroko Watanabe sends a letter to his old childhood address in snow-covered Otaru, a home she believes no longer exists, hoping to send a message into the ether. To her shock, she receives a reply signed by "Itsuki Fujii." The respondent is not her late lover's ghost, but a female former classmate who shared his exact name. As the two women begin exchanging letters across the snowbound landscape, a tender, long buried portrait of forgotten youth, unrequited first love, and shared memory slowly unfurls.

A foundational landmark of 1990s Asian cinema, Shunji Iwai’s feature debut became a massive cultural phenomenon across East and Southeast Asia, immortalized by Miho Nakayama’s double performance. Shot with a dreamlike, soft focus palette by the late cinematographer Noboru Shinoda, this new 4K digital restoration preserves every delicate detail.

4K remastering under the supervision of Fuji Television Network, Inc., with all analog and digital processes by Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc. Image digitization through high-resolution 4K scanning from the original 35mm camera negative. Restoration, color correction, and final sound finishing supervised by director Shunji Iwai.

In Japanese with English subtitles.

Rated PG

Presented at Filmhouse as part of Japanese Film Festival, in partnership with the Singapore Film Society, Japan Creative Center and Japan Foundation

Discover how the iconic Anthony Bourdain came to be in Matt Johnson’s scrappy coming-of-age comedy that's equal parts sweet and sour. 

Long before he became the world’s favorite culinary storyteller, Anthony Bourdain was just a dishwashing kid getting baptized in the grease, sweat, and chaos of a 1970s coastal seafood shack. This electric origin story follows a young Tony (Dominic Sessa) as he gets thrown into the fire of a cutthroat kitchen brigade. Surrounded by foul-mouthed line cooks, late-night vices, and non-stop pressure, a reckless teenager stumbles into the raw grit and rock-and-roll pulse that defined his entire legacy.

In English with English subtitles.

Rated M18 for Coarse Language and Drug Use.

The film contains an utterance of religious profanity that exceeds IMDA guidelines. The line has been muted by the distributor to be kept in line with guidelines.