This is a film about people who cannot seem to escape the pains of the past. In this tale of a bus driver and two brothers who survived a bus hijack two years ago and reunite to start a new life as a family, the filmmaker explores the idea of restoration. Their pains from the past have been engraved into their hearts by the media attention and the curious eyes of people. The performance of Japanese star, Yakusho Koji who has received international attention as well, is superb, but what is more interesting is the way in which filmmaker, Shinji Aoyama has taken his 1996 film, Helpless one step further and expressed his film world within the surroundings of his hometown, Kyushu. Shot in black and white and developed into a color positive print using chromatic B&W, this film presents a new realm to the cinematic experience by enabling one to discover colors among black and white. Nothing much happens during the 3 hour and 37 minute running time, yet this film truly stands out with Shinji Aoyama′s unique approach. (Shion Yang)