One evening Haji, an actor close upon forty, dreams of his own death. This dream is perhaps a result of his recent feeling of being at a dead-end. His work is at an impasse, his health is poor, and he has separated from his wife. A movie producer cannot bear to see Haji this way and offers him the leading role in a film, but Haji does not take him seriously. Bon, a friend from high school, whom Haji has not seen for some time, appears suddenly, almost like a ghost. He has come to pick up Haji and take him to their friend’s wedding. Almost as a way to flee Tokyo, Haji returns with Bon to his hometown for the first time in many years.

The shooting of Playback was my first time working with professional actors. Most of them were more or less 10 years older than me at the time, but looking back, I realized than 10 years have already passed since the shooting and I now find myself as old as they were then. A short period of time can feel sometime very long, whereas a long period of time can fly by so fast. The whole film is about the strange way time flows. Also, this year I directed a new film with several film crew members I met while shooting Playback. It will be released next year.