The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)
Directed by
  • C.W. Winter
  • Anders Edström
Written by
  • C.W. Winter
Produced by
  • C.W. Winter
  • Anders Edström
  • Wang Yue
StarringTayoko Shiojiri
CinematographyAnders Edström
Edited byC.W. Winter
Production
companies
  • General Asst.
  • Silver Salt Films
Distributed by
  • Grasshopper Film
  • Capricci
Release dates
  • 21 February 2020 (2020-02-21) (Berlinale)
  • 16 July 2021 (2021-07-16) (United States)
  • 22 July 2022 (2022-07-22) (France)
Running time
480 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Sweden
  • Japan
  • United Kingdom
LanguageJapanese

The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) is a 2020 fiction film directed by C.W. Winter and Anders Edström. It describes life in a farming village, population 47, in the Shiotani basin in the Japanese prefecture of Kyoto.[1] It is the second feature-length collaboration between C.W. Winter and Anders Edström after their 2009 film, The Anchorage.

Plot

The film, which takes its title from Hesiod's Ancient Greek farmer's almanac Works and Days, is presented in five chapters as it examines the daily routine of Tayoko, an elderly woman and farmer who lives in Shiotani. The film follows Tayoko as she cares for and prepares to mourn her husband, Junji, and features excerpts read from Tayoko's real life diaries.[2]

Cast

  • Tayoko Shiojiri as Tayoko
  • Hiroharu Shikata as Hiroharu
  • Ryo Kase as Ryo Sasaki
  • Mai Edström as Mai
  • Kaoru Iwahana as Junji
  • Jun Tsunoda as Kagawa
  • Masahiro Motoki as NPC

Production

The film was inspired by a series of conversations between Winter, Edström, and Tayoko, who is Edström's real life mother-in-law.[3] It was shot for a total of 27 weeks, across a 14-month period. At 480 minutes long, it is one of the longest films ever made.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Encounters Golden Bear for Best Film.[4] It had its U.S. theatrical release on July 16, 2021 and its French theatrical release on June 22, 2022.

Critical response

The film received critical acclaim. Mark Peranson for Cinema Scope called the film "an utterly confident, magisterial effort that will stand the test of time."[5] In La Internacional Cinéfila, Agnès Wildenstein called it, "The best movie of the year. A tremendous cinematic pleasure. And a film that will remain in the history of cinema."[6] Jordan Cronk, writing for Artforum, described the film as a "comprehensive look at a vanishing way of life...uncommonly poignant and profound."[7] Writing for Le Monde, Clarise Fabré called the film "a masterpiece."[8]

In addition to the Berlinale prize, the film won Best Independent/Experimental Film of the Year from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.[9] It also won Best Film prizes at the Punto de Vista[10] and Black Canvas film festivals. The film made dozens of end of the year Ten Best lists.[11][12][13][14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Works and Days". Grasshopper Film. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  2. ↑ "Jordan Cronk on C.W. Winter and Anders Edström's The Works and Days (2020)". Artforum. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  3. ↑ "The Land Demands Your Effort: C.W Winter (and Anders Edström) on The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)". Cinema Scope. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  4. ↑ "The Award for the Best Film in the Encounters Competition..." Berlinale. February 29, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  5. ↑ "The Land Demands Your Effort: C.W Winter (and Anders Edström) on The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)". Cinema Scope. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  6. ↑ "La Internacional Cinéfila 2020)". Con los ojos abiertos. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  7. ↑ "Time Regaineed". Artforum. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  8. ↑ Fabré, Clarisse (2021-07-15). "Les Travaux et les Jours: une épopée magique aux confins de l'image et du son". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  9. ↑ "47th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". LAFCA. January 5, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Prizes. 15th Edition. 2021". Punto de Vista. March 20, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  11. ↑ "The Cinema Scope Top Ten of 2020". Cinema Scope. April 5, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Individual Top Tens of 2021". RogerEbert.com. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  13. ↑ Nicholson, Ben (December 15, 2021). "2021: the year in documentary". British Film Institute. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Slant's Best Films of 2021: The Ballots". Slant. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.


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