The Cinematheque

New Restoration

“Moving marks a period of the highest refinement in Somai Shinji’s career.”

Hamaguchi Ryusuke

Though deservedly lauded for his hyperkinetic youth-in-revolt movies of the 1980s (three of which screened here last November), the pinnacle of Somai Shinji’s cinema wouldn’t arrive until Moving the following decade. A work of astonishing assurance of vision, anchored by a dazzling child performance from Tabata Tomoko, this coming-of-age odyssey distills the strong points of Somai’s filmmaking—actor-as-athlete physicality, improbable single-take choreography, surges of emotional ferocity—while folding a subtler, more restrained poeticism into its approach. The film concerns Renko (Tabata), a bright, bubbly sixth-grader navigating the hurt and confusion of her parents’ separation and an uncharted future suddenly set out before her. As domestic dramas ensue, Somai shrinks the distance between the film’s perspective and Renko’s, culminating in a miraculous final act that grants us access to the protagonist’s lyrical inner life. This beautiful restoration, marking Moving​’s 30th anniversary, won Best Restored Film at last year’s Venice Classics.

In Japanese with English subtitles

“A film that marks a milestone … After seeing Moving, I had confirmation that Somai Shinji was the best filmmaker of his generation, which immediately placed him as the only director I was hoping to overtake.”

Kore-eda Hirokazu

“The emotionally affecting and surreal denouement in Moving achieves a level of transcendence unrivaled in [Somai’s] filmography.”

Katarina Docalovich, Screen Slate