South of the Border, West of the Sun

Hajime, an only child in post-war suburban Japan, finds his sole companion in the equally solitary Shimamoto. Their childhood bond, forged over shared silences and her father's jazz records, is abruptly severed when Hajime's family moves away. Decades later, Hajime has built a seemingly perfect life: a successful jazz bar, a loving wife, and two daughters. But his carefully constructed world is irrevocably shaken when Shimamoto, now beautiful, enigmatic, and veiled in an alluring mystery, reappears. Her sudden return catapults Hajime into a labyrinth of suppressed memories, unfulfilled desires, and the intoxicating 'what ifs' of his past. As he grapples with his renewed obsession for Shimamoto, Hajime finds himself navigating a treacherous emotional landscape, risking everything he holds dear in the present for a chance to reclaim a lost, idealized love that may only exist in his mind.