World Premiere

Suton is a kind of sound used to describe coming to an “understanding” or “settling” something.

The story starts when the main character, a woman living alone in Tokyo, begins working at a neighborhood café. Her life seems placid, but an encounter with a customer triggers an avalanche of memories from her past, revealing the background of the bitter consequences of having her work canceled because of COVID-19, the effect of which affected her mental health and cut short her career as an actress. Now that she has reached her bottom and settled, she begins to live life without a script and absorbs the words and ways of life of the people she meets. Succinctly shot vignettes and agile leaps between place and time make this a touching character study marked by poignancy over ideas such as aging and separation but also the warmth of her connections with others. [Jason MAHER]