Umibe no Lear

Chokitsu Kuwabatake (Tatsuya Nakadai) is a major star actor with a career spanning over half a century both on stage and on screen, in addition to presiding over an acting school. But this once-glorious star with an indomitable love of acting now appears to be suffering from dementia, leading his eldest daughter Yukiko and her husband Yukio, who was also Chokitsu’s apprentice, to throw him into a high-end senior home—and only after making him write a will. One day, Chokitsu runs away from the senior home. As if pulled by some force, he walks aimlessly along the beach, wearing silk pajamas and a coat, dragging his suitcase along. As he wanders along, he suddenly meets Nobuko, his daughter, with another woman other than his wife. He had kicked Nobuko out of the house in rage after she herself had a baby out of wedlock. He sees in Nobuko the mirage of King Lear’s beloved daughter Cordelia. The madness of Lear possesses Chokitsu, and when his memories come swelling up, his heart begins to shine for the last time in his life. (Toho Company)