Moemi is not overly pleased when Yukio brings home a couple of turtles to keep her company. Although Yukio works at home as a writer, Moemi feels neglected and desired a dog or a cat, but neither is allowed in their apartment. He drills a hole in the front of one turtle's shell so that it can be taken for walks on a leash, but Moemi spares the second from the same fate by proclaiming it "The House Turtle." Their lives seem reasonably happy until she has her braces removed, and Yukio finds kissing her less satisfying. She soon starts tying up everything in her sight with knotted twine, starting with the turtles. A psychiatrist diagnoses "Obsessive Knot-Binding Syndrome" due to deficiencies in her relationship with Yukio... Edit Translation
- English
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- dansk
- Norsk
- Native Title: アンドゥー
- Also Known As: anduu
- Screenwriter & Director: Iwai Shunji
- Genres: Psychological, Romance, Drama
Cast & Credits
- Toyokawa EtsushiYukioMain Role
- Yamaguchi Tomoko Main Role
- Taguchi Tomorowo[Psychiatrist]Support Role
Reviews
The love that is lost because of obsession
"Undo", an average film by Shunji Iwai. Things that won't change in his films are the great soundtrack and photography, I think 47 minutes was a reasonable amount of time to have in a story, it's crazy and fast.The performances are simple, but very convincing. I think the person who stands out the most is Tomoko Yamaguchi (Moemi), she manages to convey the feeling of a person who is going through an obsessive syndrome.
The knots are very important to this film, being the main reason for the plot due to Moemi's obsession, they are also important to describe the love that will be lost with the couple, until Yukio, played by Etushi Toyokawa, will want to restore this love. Until in the end, he will be trapped in knots, without his Moemi. As Moemi had said to Yukio before:
"I'm really stuck"
Until he himself ends up being tied up by the knots, the obsession cannot be undone, no matter how hard you try.
When words are absent or insufficient, the mind finds another way to externalize the suffering.
Undo is a purely artistic film. It is about a visual representation of a psychiatric disorder.Although as a movie, the narrative structure, the lack of dialogues and relevant scenes to give us more context needed of the story, the film is a unique sensory experience to watch !! The directing is absolutely stunning.
It is pure visual art, more than a film.
Moemi and Yukio are long time lovers, but their relationship is fading away. They love each other but aren't in love anymore.
Moemi is trying to change things to fix their relationship but Yukio is uanble to express what he really feels. She is willing to stop her own evolution just for the sake of Moemi being able to see in Yukio what made him in love ... (her choosing to put back her braces because he was used to them)
"You don't like it?"
Moemi's insanity starts. She has this compulsive need to attach things to her, so that they don't leave her. And in the movie, I feel like it started when Moemi asked Yukio why their kiss didn't feel as good as before (but she felt it too, she knows when she kisses him, the intense feelings aren't there for her too) .
He couldn't really answer, he couldn't give an answer, simply because he really didn't know why his love had changed, she started to brush his hair, her hands yearned for his hair, as if she wanted to hold them, because indeed both were noticing how far they were drifting away.
The braces were just a symbol of it, and now knoting things is the only way she finds to cope with the traumatic revelation that their love is dying by itself, with no actual real reason than the simple exhaustion of romantic feelings.
An ‘Obsessive Knot-Binding Syndrome’.