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Vacation

Vacation

(Kyuka), Hajime Kadoi / J, 2009
Japanese version / English and Czech subtitles, 112 min

This minimalistically conceived debut feature builds a gut wrenching psychological drama around the titular vacation. In this case, the vacation is a reward for prison guards who accept the traumatizing post of an assistant during the hanging of a prisoner sentenced to death. The story focuses on a middle-aged warden who is about to marry a young widow that has a little boy. However, having spent all his fee vacation days on aiding his sick mother, the warden now can not go on the honeymoon, which would be a chance to properly connect with his new family. Thus he is faced with a dilemma, because he assisted an execution once before and is tormented by the memories till the present day.