Film tip
Filmkunstkinos Düsseldorf

Naomi Kawase
Vision (Die Blüte des Einklangs)

Trailer

Milena Michiko Flašar
Herr Katō spielt Familie

He always envied his former colleague. He envied his retirement, his motorcycle and his new freedom. But now Mr. Katō himself, freshly retired, stands on the mossy stairs in front of his house and doesn't know where to go. He no longer needs a tie, he is in the way at home, and the children have long since moved out. Whether the woman he meets at the cemetery is fooling him, he doesn't know. Nevertheless, he lets himself be hired by her agency »Happy Family,« an agency where you can hire »friends« or »relatives,« sometimes as a grandpa, sometimes as an ex-husband, then as a supervisor. His wife doesn't notice any of this. She has started dancing again.

A thoughtful book about pension shock, (unfulfilled) dreams, life models and the progressive loneliness in society.

A book tip by Katja Cassing from Cast Publishing House
ISBN 978-3-8031-3292-5
Photo: Helmut Wimmer

Chisako Wakatake
Jeder geht für sich allein

At 24, Momoko went to the big city, to Tokyo, to leave behind the constraints of the provinces, to be free. She was not afraid of work, slaved away, adapted herself, acted as she was expected to: obedient, friendly, eager for harmony. And so she unexpectedly took the path that society laid out for her: husband, children, a nice home. Now, at 74, with her husband dead and her children long gone, Momoko reflects. About the dreams she once had. About love. About loneliness. About aging and death.

Every man for himself is a wise book. Touching and hilarious at the same time. A book about what it means to be human.

Reading extract
A book tip by Katja Cassing from Cass Publishing House
ISBN 978-3-944751-25-2
Photo: Kisei Kobayashi