ONE HUNDRED YEN LOVE (2014)

百円の恋

32-year-old Ichiko (Sakura Ando, Shoplifters) lives at home in self-indulgent grunginess with her parents and recently divorced younger sister. One morning, after a particularly heated argument, Ichiko decides to leave for good. With few options to support herself, she finds a job at a 100 yen shop (dollar store). Each day on her way home from work Ichiko passes a boxing gym where she watches Yuji Kano (Hirofumi Arai) silently practice. The two make plans to see each other, and suddenly life starts to change for Ichiko... At last, the bell rings, and this longtime loser's rematch with life begins!

Japan's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Masaharu Take's 100 YEN LOVE had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival where it won the Japanese Cinema Splash Best Picture Award.