‘Ring Wandering’ is a saga of Tokyo’s hidden war-torn past: Director Masakazu Kaneko at IFFI 52

International competition film from Japan Ring Wandering screened at IFFI 52

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS SWATI BHAT/ PANJI GOA The Ring Wandering (Ringu Wandaringu) is a film about a Manga artist in Tokyo discovering the remains of the Second World war buried in the grounds of Tokyo. The film from Japan is competing for the Golden Peacock Award along with 14 other films at the 52nd International Film Festival of India being held in Goa.

Masakazu Kaneko, the Director of the film, beautifully narrates the story of lost souls in the Second World War in Tokyo. “During the Second World War, lots of bombs were dropped on Tokyo leaving many dead bodies in the ground. Not all of them were identified and given proper funerals. I believe the souls of these people are still there.”

Often cited as the most destructive act of war in the Second World War, the bombing of Tokyo left many people killed and many areas destroyed. Though the war is not shown in the movie, the Director tried to show the scars the war left on the minds of the people of Tokyo.

“Now all we see around Tokyo are skyscrapers and bullet trains, modern architecture and technology. But I wanted to show the real Tokyo through this film”, Kaneko said.  

The filmmaker reminds us that it is not a war film. It focuses upon human relationships and how humans should think beyond the things that we understand. Kaneko reinforced the idea of forging better relationships within us in the film.  He said, “We have reached the highest pinnacles of civilization but at the same time it is important to remember our rich history and heritage.”

Ring Wandering is also officially selected for the Warsaw International Film Festival in 2021. Kaneko’s first feature film The Albino’s Trees premiered at Beijing Film Festival and it won 20 awards worldwide. This is his second film. 

Yutaka Nakayama, the Executive Producer of the movie, said that he wanted to support movies based on nature and human relationships. “I watched Kaneko’s last film The Albino’s Trees and I thought more people should watch his genius and unique work on screen”, he said. 

The film will be released in Japan in February, next year, the Director informed.

The cast and crew of the movie consists of Masakazu Kaneko and Genki Yoshimura, Screenplay writers, Koichi Furuya, Director of Photography, Masakazu Kaneko, Editor and Shô Kasamatsu, Junko Abe and Ken Yasuda among others as actors.g