The Fossil

化石

An industrialist is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He is abroad in Europe at the time, and a glimpse of a Japanese woman in that setting causes him to imagine her as the personification of his impending fate. As his dialogue with his imagined mortality continues, he meets the living woman, the template for his fantasy, and together, they tour rural churches. Gradually, he comes to some kind of peace about the diagnosis. When he returns to Japan, he is met with a series of challenges that profoundly test the lessons he has learned.

Director

Masaki Kobayashi

Screenplay

Takeshi Yoshida

Screenplay

Shun Inagaki

Novela

Yasushi Inoue

Status

Released

Release date

04/10/1975

Original language

Japanese