Saudade

Kofu City is like any other small city in Japan. Takeshi is a member of the local hip-hop group Army Village. His parents have filed for bankruptcy and have become gambling addicts, while his younger brother is mentally unstable. After applying to a construction resource agency, Takeshi is sent to work sites where he meets immigrant workers and is befriended by Seiji and Hosaka. Construction labour is all Seiji has known in his young life. Hosaka has recently returned from Thailand. His new friends take Takeshi to a local Thai pub where Seiji and Hosaka have a blast. But Takeshi feels alienated and starts feeling hostility against the immigrants. –Locarno Film Festival