The Last Blossom
Baku Kinoshita
2025 / 90’ / Japan
Akutsu, an elderly inmate serving life in prison, is on the verge of a lonely death in his solitary cell. The voice mocking him belongs to a balsam flower with an uncanny ability to talk. Through their “conversation,” Akutsu begins to reflect on his past.
1987, summer. In a town by the sea, down-and-out yakuza Akutsu moves into a shabby apartment found for him by his sworn brother, Tsutsumi. Out in the yard, a balsam flower grows. Akutsu shares his new home with Nana, a woman six years his junior, and her newborn son Kensuke. From their veranda, they watch a massive fireworks display. The three of them live happily, until Akutsu suddenly finds himself in need of a huge sum of money, which leads him to join Tsutsumi in an attempt to rob their own organization’s safe of 300 million yen…