Three generations
My Red Kimono.
In a trunk in the Burgundian family house I keep a treasure: a red silk kimono once offered by an old friend of the family; for hours I admired it, but so far I have never even worn it.
As far as I can remember, my first memory of a kimono was the one worn by my Japanese grandmother when she first came to visit us in France, I must have been around 5 years old. Since then, I have been fascinated by those marvellous and beautiful objects that in a way symbolise Japan for me who grew up in France surrounded by intriguing Japanese culture. All my life long, I have jumped on all the opportunities to wear them, even sometimes embarrassing my mother whose friend once described as “the Frenchier of all Japanese women”.
During this cinematographic trip I will finally maybe have a chance to try it on. I will take it with me, carefully wrapped in its white silk paper. Time to follow the unraveled silk thread all the way to Japan.
“Overall, this film is rather astonishing. I’ve watched it three times now, and, each time, see something new. Many of the shots and settings are breathtakingly beautiful. As is the ceremony, labor, and ritual that goes into the production of the ‘red kimono’ and the wedding preparations. This is a visual feast.”
Lars Johnson, Speechless Film Festival 2017
