Ozu Shapes Mishima Yukiko’s Tokyo Competition Title ‘Two Cigarettes, Three Nights’
Mishima Yukiko’s “Two Cigarettes, Three Nights” is competing at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, marking a shift towards a more intimate, conversational relationship drama. The film follows a picture book illustrator caught between an unsatisfying live-in boyfriend and a married lover, as a close friend from her past returns and becomes her confidant.
Adapted from Chihaya Akane’s 2014 novel, the film stars Matsuoka Mayu and Narita Ryo. Shot in Kyoto, Hiroshima and Toyama, it uses walks, everyday settings and characters sitting side by side to bring movement to its dialogue-heavy scenes. Mishima cites Ozu Yasujiro’s filming of people within everyday Japanese life as an influence; she says the story grows from personal moments and leaves its ending open to interpretation.
In short
- Mishima’s new film is in competition at Tokyo’s 39th film festival.
- The story centres on a woman and a friend reconnecting after seven years.
- Ozu’s approach to everyday scenes influenced Mishima’s visual style.
Explained simply
Japanese director Mishima Yukiko is making a relationship drama about a picture book illustrator whose personal life is divided between a live-in boyfriend and a married lover. The return of an old friend gives her someone to confide in as she considers her relationships.
The film is based on a 2014 novel by Chihaya Akane and stars Matsuoka Mayu and Narita Ryo. Mishima has said she was influenced by director Ozu Yasujiro’s attention to people in ordinary Japanese settings; the film uses everyday places and conversations to explore its characters, with an ending left open to interpretation.
The Tokyo International Film Festival is an annual event that showcases films from Japan and abroad. The film’s selection there places Mishima’s intimate drama among the works presented to festival audiences.
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