The Milkwoman
02/07/2005
Minako (TANAKA Yuko), begins her day running up and down the hills of her hometown delivering milk door to door. When that's done, she heads to her day job as a supermarket cashier. Minako is 50 and single. In one of the houses to which she delivers milk is a man with whom she has secretly been in love since high school. The man, Keita (KISHIBE Ittoku), lives with his wife Yoko, who is terminally ill. Caring for her at home, he works in the children's affairs section of the local municipal office. Though he insists that he wants nothing more than an "ordinary" existence, his life is in turmoil below the surface. The director uses a variety of narrative devises to portray the loneliness, isolation, and hope of these people who have seemingly allowed their goals and dreams to slip away, whilst keeping them agonizingly close to hand.
Movie Information
Yuko Tanaka
as Minako Oba
Ittoku Kishibe
as Kaita Takanashi
Akiko Nishina
as Yoko Takanashi
Koichi Ueda
as Masao Minagawa
Teruyuki Kagawa
as Manager of Super Market
Ippei Souda
as Milk Shop Owner
Hazuki Kōzu
as Nurse Watanabe
Rakuko Tane
as Kimiko Ito
Erika Mabuchi
as Mari Yoshida
Tatsuo Yamada
as Yujiro Kawai
Yûrei Yanagi
as Manager of Child Guidance Center
Sawa Suzuki
as Chiyo Oba
Misako Watanabe
as Toshiko Minagawa
Tarō Suwa
as Gallery Owner
Den Fujita
as Old Man at City Office
