Tabi no omosa

A teenage girl leaves home and goes on a pilgrimage to find herself.

There's really nothing wrong in any particular department of this Japanese "Journey of Natty Gann" - the acting, direction and photography are all perfectly competent - it's just very dull, uneventful and forgettable: if I left this review until tomorrow, I doubt I'd be able to remember any of it; the girl just wanders around and meets random people, but none of them seem to leave any lasting impact upon her, or at least any that is clearly conveyed to the audience. It all just seems fleeting and pointless.

The film it is most like is probably Agnes Varda's "Vagabond" (1985), but it's far less compelling and meaningful, with no life-or-death moments to give it any weight.

Based on a novel by Kukiko Moto, Journey into Solitude (Tabi no Omosa) is a story about a 16 year old girl that goes on a trip on the island of Shikoku to seek freedom, and meaning of life.

The girl (Yoko Takahashi) leaves her mother (Kyoko Kishida) who's a painter leaving her a note "Mom, don't be surprised, and don't cry. I left on a journey. I'm not running away. I'm just going on a journey.". She travels around Shikoku meeting many people. Near cape Ashizuri she meets traveling performers and joins their band. She befriends Masako (Rie Yokoyama). With Masako she experiences lesbianism for the first time. She leaves the traveling performers, but soon gets sick. A middle aged man Kimura (Etsushi Takahashi) picks her up and nurses her back to life. Kimura is a fish salesman. The girl starts a life being his wife and sends her mother a letter saying "Mom, I'm satisfied with this life. This is my ideal life. There's love, loneliness, and meaning in this life.".

The movie is done beautifully with beautiful scenery of Shikoku as its back drop. The theme is very '70s. Girl journeys to find freedom and happiness.

The movie is debut for two of the most prolific actress in Japanese TV and cinema, Yoko Takahashi, and Kumiko Akiyoshi.

This is one of the outstanding movies to come out of Japan.