loneliness, that controlled substance

i have to admit that i was recently, casually, & completely blown away by 1981’s Eki / Station. in this film we have a hokkaido cop who gets sucked into a deep hokkaido winter, a season which is given nearly as much of a character role as the actors. and, everybody knows that “winter” is a character. it just is. the least character-y season to me is spring, though i can’t tell if that’s because it’s september and i’m looking forward to winter, or because i’m in a reflective mood, and spring energy doesn’t really feel that appealing right now. either way, the sheer loneliness in this film absolutely crosses the line. Eki (yes, that means “train station”) truly plays up the sense of loneliness around the main character to the point where it’s just inescapable. everyone around him reflects it, absorbs it, casually tosses it around. the landscape, the people, hell, even the bright orange coin-operated TV set in the isolated hotel room. loneliness is a schedule III controlled substance in…