rain town

Some time ago, the rain began to fall incessantly, and the citizens left rain town, headed for the suburbs and higher ground. A young girl strays deep into “rain town,” which has been completely abandoned and fallen into ruins. There she meets a lonely robot, who remembers the town as it used to be. This is a work that uses only tranquil music and the sound of falling rain to gently depict scenes of a rather dark, yet beautiful world that makes one feel a certain sense of loneliness and nostalgia.

The sound of falling rain and beautiful scenes evoke nostalgia
The landscape of never-ending rain was impressive. Seen from a distance, the film’s subjects radiate neither sound nor presence, as if they are part of the scenery. What was the artist trying to convey? Of what significance is the rain? Metaphorical conjecturing aside, time passes smoothly in the world of this film, and the viewer gradually gives in to an enveloping pleasantness. Perhaps the artist was trying to use animation to create such a world. And so a New Face Award is given to Hiroyasu Ishida, whose Fumiko’s Confession received an Excellence Award last year. The irregularity was noted, but in discussing the meaning of “new face” the members of this year’s animation division jury determined that age was irrelevant—that we should reward those who the jury agreed were commendable new talent—and the result of our deliberation is a carefully considered one.We look forward to the future development of this young animation creator who, while dissecting and identifying his directiroal techniques, production flow and thematic approach, continues to produce such a solid body of creative work.