{"id":28846,"date":"2025-05-23T12:45:55","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T09:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/msfilmfestival.fi\/?post_type=movies&p=28846"},"modified":"2025-05-23T12:45:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T09:45:55","slug":"two-forests","status":"publish","type":"movies","link":"https:\/\/msfilmfestival.fi\/en\/movies\/two-forests\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Forests"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jan Ij\u00e4s\u2019 <\/span>Two Forests<\/span><\/i> is an essay film about Japan and death. The two forests of the title are Aokigahara suicide forest, also known as \u201cthe sea of trees,\u201d by Mount Fuji and a forest located on Mount Kamuriki where, legend has it, people used to leave unwanted elderly persons to die. These two forests form a prism through which Ij\u00e4s peeks at the collective mental landscape of a country known for its high suicide rates and an aging population.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film wanders off from the forest paths to a Japanese suicide guide, the homelessness and criminality of the elderly, a serial killer stalking on people contemplating suicide as well as the village of \u014ctsuchi, which was nearly destroyed by a tsunami in 2011, and an English garden that has been preserved therein.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the themes are heavy, the film\u2019s tone is benign and light. The imagery of everyday Japan and an unsentimental voice-over narration engender a soothing rhythm which offers a pleasurable place for wandering to wonder.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ilpo Hirvonen<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jan Ij\u00e4s\u2019 Two Forests is an essay film about Japan and death. The two forests of the title are Aokigahara suicide forest, also known as \u201cthe sea of trees,\u201d by Mount Fuji and a forest located on Mount Kamuriki where, legend has it, people used to leave unwanted elderly persons to die. These two forests… View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"featured_media":28844,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-28846","movies","type-movies","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","filters-new-finnish-films"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Forests — Midnight Sun Film Festival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jan Ij\u00e4s\u2019 Two Forests is an essay film about Japan and death. 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