Description

Once upon a time, there were two dear old ladies who inhabited an enormous old house on the outskirts of a small town. Their lives tended toward tranquility and solitude, their days absorbed by a rather curious pastime –- poking around in the neighbourhood trash for items with which to decorate their abode. One day, though, their peace is punctured by the sudden arrival of a mysterious interloper into their little world. A young girl, by no means the talkative type, settles into their home, and into a habitual activity even more odd than their own. Her fingers are ceaselessly at work, knitting a red sweater which will promptly be unraveled the moment its done and knitted again –- and again. She does far more than simply upend the comfortable routine of the elderly sisters. Her mere presence allows the old girls to reconsider the way of living they’ve chosen, and bring out into the light memories long under lock and key. The doors to the past will be thrown open, to reveal the secrets that still live there.

Here’s a fairy tale your mother never told you! In the spirit of the Brothers Grimm, director Mai Tominiga uses the device of the fable to explore themes as mature as the sexuality of young children and abuse within the family. We’re led into a realm of fanciful facades that scrap by scrap fall away to expose the indescribable darkness lurking there.

Cleverly intermingling several well-worn tales, Tominiga fashions a labyrinthine narrative in which it’s a pleasure to get lost. Her film likewise makes use of three types of mise-en-scène, from startlingly capable performances by live actors to remarkable if troubling animated sequences to, finally, dolls manipulated by a tiny child’s hands (one of the most beautiful segments of the film). Wool 100% joins Tideland and Blood Tea and Red String in employing contemporary cinema of great imagination to demonstrate those earliest years of our lives aren’t always the most wonderful.

—Simon Laperrière (translated by Rupert Bottenberg)

“A fertile but unbridled imagination… evidence of a rich new talent…” – Russell Edwards, VARIETY

Credits

Director: Mai Tominaga
Screenplay: Mai Tominaga
Cast: Kyôko Kishida Kazuko Yoshiyuki Ayu Kitaura
Producers: Masahiro Harada, Kazuhiko Yusa
Distributor: The Klockworx Co., Ltd.