Robinson’s Garden

On a drunken walk home, bohemian drug-dealer Kumi (Kumiko Ota) discovers an abandoned building on the outskirts of Tokyo. Attracted by the vast untapped space rampant with luxuriant vegetation, she promptly sells all of her belongings and retreats from the world. She carves an island for herself out of the sprawling concrete squat, now free to grow cabbage and express herself in any way she pleases.

This film offers a stark contrast to the sights of financial prosperity brought forth by the films of the Economic Bubble era. Lensed by Tom DiCillo (Living in Oblivion, Johnny Suede), it instead shares much in common with the No Wave films the cinematographer pioneered alongside Jim Jarmusch (Stranger Than Paradise). An unsung, anticapitalist masterwork.