SUB CATEGORY :

SCRIPT

ENTRANT COMPANY :

SIX INC., TOKYO

TITLE :

A TRAIN OF MEMORIES

BRAND :

SOTETSU

ADVERTISER :

SOTETSU HOLDINGS

AGENCY :

SIX INC., TOKYO/GOOD DESIGN COMPANY, TOKYO

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

MANABU MIZUNO

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

YUTA OKUYAMA

ART DIRECTOR :

KEI KAWABE

CREATIVE PLANNER :

YUSUKE AMAGAI/YUKI YOKOI

CREATIVE PRODUCER :

YUKIKO MIZUNO/KIMIKO INOUE

PR PLANNER :

SAKURA OKAMOTO

AGENCY BUSINESS PRODUCER :

TOMOHIRO NAGASHIMA/YUKO TANAKA/SAYA YAMADA

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

SPOON., TOKYO

DIRECTOR :

SHOW YANAGISAWA

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY :

RYOKEN OKAMURA

DIT :

KEI KIMURA

STEADICAM OPERATOR :

TAKUMA IWATA

GAFFER :

SHIN TAKAKURA

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR :

MASAHIDE KIMURA/HIDENORI TSUMOTO

FILM PRODUCER :

DAI SANO/HIROMI SATO

PRODUCTION MANAGER :

RYO KAMIYA/SHINTARO YAMASHITA/KOICHI HIRAO

PRODUCTION DESIGNER :

YUKIKO KURIBAYASHI

CASTING :

JUNKO SUZUKI/KEITA TAKASAWA/KEITA NAGAHARA/
REIKA UEDA/KANON KATSURA/HIROTO HORINAGA

CHOREOGRAPHER :

CHIHARU SHIMURA

STYLIST :

TAKERU SAKAI

HAIR ARTIST (BEARD) :

TAKAHARU ARAI

HAIR & MAKE-UP :

EITO FURUKUBO

POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY :

SLANTED, TOKYO

OFFLINE EDITOR :

TAKASHI TANAKA

COLORIST :

TOSHIKI KAMEI

SPECIAL EFFECTS COMPANY :

SLANTED, TOKYO

LEAD CG ARTIST :

KAZUKI OTSUKA

CG DIRECTOR :

FUTOSHI YAMAUCHI

CG PRODUCER :

SHINJI SANTOH

SOUND PRODUCTION COMPANY :

PIANO INC., TOKYO

SOUND EFFECTS :

YOSHIO NAKAMURA

RECORDING MIX ENGINEER :

SHOJIRO WATANABE

MIXER :

MASAYUKI SATO

MUSIC ARTIST :

PUNPEE

MUSIC PRODUCER :

KEISUKE TOMINAGA

ENGLISH SYNOPSIS :

Our film follows the track of the father-daughter relationship evolving over twelve years as they commute to work and school on the same train on the sotetsu line. The entire story is set on a train and was filmed in one shot.
As the daughter grows, she explores new social values, ventures beyond her family circle, and becomes distant from her father. The ever-changing father-daughter relationship throughout the years is styled as a seamless time-lapse sequence of 50 lookalike actors with train's winding movements to express the swaying emotions of the two. It reflects how life goes by in a succession of ordinary moments like an uncut one-shot film.
In the final scene, the father prepares to get off at their usual station, except this time, the daughter will continue on to her new university in Tokyo. She is on the new connecting line that goes directly into Tokyo.

ENGLISH SCRIPT :

Super: from the day i let go of your hand, how far will you go?
Sunlight streams through the windows and dances across the train floor.
The camera pans up. it’s the interior of a sotetsu line train in 2011.
Train announcement: arriving at nishiya.
Father: ok, this is it.
A father and his six-year-old daughter prepare to get off the train.
The daughter expresses her boredom, and the father tries to encourage her.
Daughter: it’s so far.
Father: it’ll go by in a flash.
When the father bends down to face the daughter, the camera tracks back, creating the impression that it’s observing their interactions over 12 years from a stationary point. in the background, a part of the train car in which the father and daughter are standing appears to be on a loop.
The childhood years. the father does everything for the daughter who adores him.
2011 spring: the father rearranges the collar of the daughter’s school uniform.
2011 summer: the father wipes the sweat off the daughter’s face.
2012 autumn: the father smoothes down his daughter’s bed hair.
2012 winter: the father wraps a scarf around his daughter’s neck.
The daughter begins getting into her own hobbies, fashion, and sports.
2013 spring: the daughter shows off a doll.
2013 summer: the daughter holds up a necklace for her father to see.
2014 autumn: the daughter proudly wears a sports jersey with the number ten.
2014 winter: the daughter looks embarrassed when her father points out her bracelet.
The daughter slowly becomes independent and begins refusing her father’s help.
2015 spring: the father tries to help arrange the daughter’s collar, but she does it herself.
2015 summer: the daughter peers into a mirror and fixes her own hair.
2016 autumn: the father tries to help, but the daughter backs away.
2016 winter: the daughter refuses the scarf her father holds out.
The daughter becomes a junior high school student and gets her own smartphone. she prefers her friends and hobbies to time with her family. she no longer talks to her father, and they begin to drift apart.
2017 spring: the daughter is glued to her smartphone. she zones out her father’s voice.
2017 summer: the daughter has dyed her hair. she ignores her father when he tries to hand her an umbrella.
2018 autumn: the daughter takes a call on the train, and her father scolds her.
2018 winter: the father and daughter argue.
2019 autumn: the daughter wears headphones and is on her smartphone. the father looks lost.
2019 winter: both father and daughter stare at their phones in silence.
The daughter enters high school and has grown out of her rebellious phase. father and daughter are awkward around each other. but as she prepares for her university exams, they begin hesitantly reaching out to each other.
2020 spring: father and daughter glance at each other, then quickly look away.
2020 summer: the father loses his balance. the daughter turns in his direction.
2021 spring: the daughter points out the father’s messy hair.
2021 summer: the father points out the daughter’s messy hair.
2022 autumn: the daughter studies for her exams. the father hands her a drink.
2022 winter: the daughter is headed to the exam venue. the father hands her a scarf, and she takes it.
Then the spring of 2023 arrives, and the train stops at their usual station.
When the father looks back as if reminiscing on the past, all the versions of himself and his daughter from the past twelve years get off the train at once. this provides a clear view to the far end of the train car, where the father and daughter from 12 years back can be seen holding hands and getting off the train together.
The father joins his daughter by the train doors.
Father: tokyo…it’s so far.
Daughter: it’ll go by in a flash.
Father: that’s true.
The dialogue from twelve years earlier is repeated, with the roles reversed.
The father reluctantly gets off the train. the daughter remains on the train, which now connects directly to tokyo and continues on to her university life.
The camera pans down. like twelve years ago, sunlight streams through the windows and dances across the train floor.
Super: go forward, as far as you like.
Super: this spring, the sotetsu line will connect directly with the tokyu line.
Train announcement: arriving at shibuya.

ENGLISH CONTEXT EXPLANATION :

Sotetsu is a japanese railway company operating entirely within kanagawa prefecture, which neighbors tokyo, since 1917. In march 2023, it established a direct through service to central tokyo by connecting with the tokyu line.
Our mission was to promote the newly-opened link to families and potential families, showcase how it provides transfer-less access from the kanagawa suburbs to downtown tokyo, and present it as a place for families to settle down. our idea draws from two perspectives relevant to the brand purpose of supporting local lifestyles.
The first is to celebrate the beauty of ordinary family life: the sotetsu line isn’t for temporary events. instead it’s a long-standing vital infrastructure that supports the everyday lives of its passengers, particularly families.
The second is to celebrate the newly-extended potential of those living along its lines: the direct connection to tokyo expands their scope of activity and opens up new possibilities.