Shiki-Jitsu (式日, Shikijitsu, lit. "ritual day" or "ceremonial day"), also known as Ritual, is a 2000 Japanese psychological drama film written and directed by Hideaki Anno. It is based on the novella Tōhimu by Ayako Fujitani, who also stars alongside Shunji Iwai.[1]
Like Anno's previous film Love & Pop (1998), it is an art film with experimental elements diving into the minds of its main characters. Shiki-Jitsu takes place over 33 days and follows the relation between an apathetic film director (Iwai) and an odd young woman (Fujitani) who start a bizarre friendship after a chance meeting and they try to work their way out of a collective emotional funk. Michael Ordona of the Los Angeles Times reported the film had "dark themes of mental illness and suicidal ideation".[2]Shiki-Jitsu won an award for Best Artistic Contribution at the 13th International Film Festival in Tokyo.[3]
Story
The film follows a young Director returning to his home city of Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and an eccentric young Woman he meets, whose quirks include saying "tomorrow is my birthday" every day and wearing very unusual clothing.
But as the days go by, it appears that the Woman has little touch with reality and is constantly escaping into a fantasy world, while the Director himself is a former anime director who is seeking to do a "real film" and embrace reality. The two eventually fall in love.
In the end, the Director confronts the Woman with her mother, allowing the Woman to make the first steps into the real world. The films ends with the Girl circling December 7 as her real birthday and the words "beyond the 33rd day: unknown".
Release
The film was produced by Studio Kajino, an offshoot of Studio Ghibli, run by its former president Toshio Suzuki who served on the film as executive producer. It was given a première at the Tokyo Photography Museum in Ebisu Garden Place on December 7, 2000.
