23rd German Film Festival 2019 (Golden Village)
Cherry Blossoms & Demons
Rating
PG13 Some Coarse Language
Language
English & German with English subtitles
Cast
Golo Euler, Aya Irizuki, Felix Eitner, Floriane Daniel, Birgit Minichmayr, Sophie Rogall, Elmar Wepper, Hannelore Elsner
Synopsis
Ten years after the death of his parents Rudi (Elmar Wepper) and Trudi (Hannelore Elsner), youngest son Karl’s (Golo Euler) life is in ruins: he has lost his job, lives sepa- rated from his wife and child and can only appease his dark, inner demons with large amounts of alcohol. Karl no longer knows who he is. Suddenly, Yu (Aya Irizuki) pops up like a hallucination, amazing and shrouded in mystery. Yu appears like a sign from a past world and turns Karl’s life upside down. Karl very reluctantly accompanies her to his parents’ empty house in Bavaria - the memories of his parents and his own, difficult childhood are all too vivid. Why won’t Karl’s dead parents let him go? What demons are pursuing him? Yu’s Japanese origins mean she has experience with demons and ghosts. Supported by Yu, with whom he falls more and more in love, Karl fights against himself and his past - in order to do this he nearly dies and has to travel to Japan to find out if he is already a ghost himself or still alive after all.