Transition

As Terasu grows from a beaming baby into a mischievous toddler, a tragedy unfolds in his young family: the boy’s mother Mie is suffering from terminal stomach cancer. From Mie’s diagnosis during her pregnancy in 2017 to her death three months after Terasu’s first birthday, her husband filmed their lives with his phone. Swiftly paced excerpts from home videos and baby photos show an utterly normal, carefree family life. Later, in scenes edited at a calmer tempo, Mie’s tubes and IVs appear in the background. Then come the inevitable shots of the 45-year-old Mie’s lifeless body being carried out of the house, followed by the funeral and mourning. But little Terasu has to carry on, and so does his father.

The second half of this cinematic photo album, when Mie is no longer in the picture, is the story of how life goes on. This “transition” is both soberingly and movingly portrayed in collage-like form, without comment.