Likely to feature at other festivals, the film is set to be released in Japan in November. With an almost permanently worried expression on her face, Miyazawa gives a memorable performance that should help see further attention to both her role and the film itself internationally.

The film, which world premiered in competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival, pokes gentle fun at the notion of Japan’s ordered, obedient and mannered society, and while running perhaps a little too long its story never dawdles and heads towards a smart ending that leaves you sympathetic to this most gentle and warm-hearted swindler. An absorbingly subversive Japanese film that delightfully blends drama with moments of almost mischievous fun, Yoshida Daihachi’s Pale Moon ( Kami no Tsuki) is a real delight, given heart, compassion and a real sense of low-key rebellion thanks to Rie Miyazawa’s delightful lead performance as a mid-mannered bank worker and wife who turns to embezzling so she can keep her younger lover happy.Īt the same time her schemes – which allow her to gain real independence (especially since handily her husband has been transferred to China) – give her a profound sense of liberation.

Pale moon film awards