Yuriko’s Aroma (リ子のアロマ Yoriko no Aroma)

“…a slick and sexy comedy-drama.”

- Jasper Sharp, Midnight Eye

CANADIAN PREMIERE/ CLOSING NIGHT FILM

Presented in partnership with Nippon Connection On Tour

Massage therapist Yuriko (Noriko Eguchi) is a master of scent. She whips up aromatherapy lotions to slather into her clients at her friends massage spa, but Yuriko isn’t prepared when she catches a whiff of the the salon owner’s sweaty 17-year-old soccer-playing nephew Takeshi (Shota Someya) and is immediately overcome with desire… or love… or possibly both. Takeshi doesn’t know quite what to make of Yuriko’s obsession with his BO, but soon he’s reciprocating her affections by letting Yuriko catch a whiff whenever she pleases. The appearance of the beautiful Iris (Saori Hara) just complicates an already complicated situation in Kota Yoshida’s sophomore feature film Yuriko’s Aroma. Equal parts naughty and funny this black comedy asks the question about where we draw the line between normal desires and ones that will jeopardize everything.

Winner of a Special Mention at the 10th annual Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Director: Kota Yoshida

Producer: Takashi Hirota, Takakazu Kusakabe & Keiko Kusakabe

Screenplay: Kota Yoshida

Cinematographer: Akitoshi Minami

Editing: Yu Katsumata

Music: Masayoshi Tomura & Shiyoji Ikenaga

Cast: Noriko Eguchi, Shota Someya, Saori Hara, Jun Miho, Noriko Kijima, Shige Kasai

Released: 2010

Running time: 77 minutes

Trailer /  Official Website

Director’s Bio:

Kota Yoshida was born in Tokyo in 1978. He began his studies at Waseda University but dropped out to focus on gaining experience as a filmmaker. He attended seminars taught by such successful directors as Tetsuo Shinohara, Keisuke Toyoshima, and Takashi Shimizu. His 2006 43-minute directorial debut Coming with My Brother! enjoyed great critical success at home and abroad, but in 2008 while Yoshida was preparing to direct his follow up film he suffered an early onset stroke. Surgery and months of rehabilitation later he managed to complete Yuriko’s Aroma.