Pastoral Hide-and-Seek

A radical destabilisation of memory and myth.

Starting with a series of haiku poems about his childhood, Shūji Terayama takes us through his cathartic and epiphanic quest for self-discovery, as important highlights from the director’s youth unfold before our eyes. A spellbinding journey that elegantly intertwines the director’s memories and fantasy, Pastoral Hide-and-Seek is a metaphorical and sensory experience where each shot is imbued with rich and symbolic meaning. Fellinian superstitious villagers and the caricaturesque inhabitants of a pop-up circus are just some examples of what the director’s reckless imagination creates in order to face his past, and come to terms with dramatic and sobering truths.