Ihatov Gensou: Kenji no Haru (1996)

Spring and Chaos

A unique biographical sketch of the life of the great modern Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa, Spring and Chaos is a highly stylized and intense film that draws on Miyazawa's writing techniques to tell his life story. Miyazawa often used animals as the main characters in his stories and poems, and it is this technique that allows director Shoji Kawamori to recreate Miyazawa's fanciful land of Ihatov and use it as the backdrop for Miyazawa's life. Beautiful and affecting, Spring and Chaos is a fitting tribute to one of Japan's greatest writers. (Source: Rotten Tomatoes)