For decades, Japanese society has held that the trinity of marriage, childbirth and a house in the suburbs is the fast track to women's fulfillment. Filmmaker Yukiko Mishima, however, disagrees.
"Most Japanese women are simply conditioned to think that way," she says. "While marriage, children and the house could all be wonderful things, they're not for everyone. I think that more Japanese women should have their own individual standards of what happiness is."
Mishima's latest endeavor is "Shape of Red" (Simply titled "Red" in Japan)" — a turbulent, sensual and ultimately pensive story of a young woman who ostensibly has it all, yet cannot stop herself from wanting something else. In this case, that thing is a passionate affair with her college boyfriend, which opens a Pandora's box of repressed desires and career ambitions.