The Projects

In the suburbs of Osaka, the residents of a housing complex are always preoccupied with something, whether it’s someone mixing up trash or the noise from a neighbor’s argument. However, Hinako (Naomi Fujiyama) and Seiji (Ittoku Kishibe) remain indifferent. The elderly couple, who moved in six months ago after their herbal medicine shop closed, are reluctantly trying to rebuild their lives. But when Seiji vanishes, rumors start flying around the apartment complex: divorce, murder, dismemberment? As the tale spirals out of control, and a mysterious man with a parasol places a large order for natural remedies, the reality turns out to be even more extraordinary than the gossip. Blending sharp comedy of errors, absurd adventure, and touching late-life romance, “The Projects” emerges as one of the year’s most unexpected delights.