Director: Yoshiyuki Kishi
Cast: Masaki Suda, Mao Inoue, Masatoshi Nakamura, Ken Miyake, Pistol Takehara
Sunset Sunrise is a 2025 Japanese drama film directed by Yoshiyuki Kishi, following a Tokyo office worker who relocates to the rugged Sanriku Coast of Miyagi Prefecture during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a quiet, observational portrait of what happens when city life collides with the rhythms of a fading rural Japan.
What is Sunset Sunrise about?
The year is 2020 and remote work has suddenly made geography irrelevant. Seizing the moment, a young man employed at a Tokyo firm trades his crowded apartment for a coastal village on the Sanriku shore, where the mornings smell of salt and the days unfold at a slower pace. He immerses himself in fishing and a tighter-knit community, finding an ease he never noticed he was missing. But the picture-perfect escape begins to crack when he discovers that the village carries its own weight — empty houses stand as reminders that young people have been leaving for decades, and the forces eroding this place run deeper than a pandemic or a restless city dweller can fix. The film resists easy resolution, letting its characters sit with ambiguity and small moments of grace.
Cast & crew
Director Yoshiyuki Kishi steers a grounded, naturalistic ensemble. Masaki Suda leads as the restless transplant, bringing a low-key intensity that suits the film's quiet register. Mao Inoue and Masatoshi Nakamura anchor the village side of the story, while Ken Miyake, Fumiyo Kohinata, and the broader ensemble give the community genuine texture and warmth.
Context & significance
Japanese films about urban flight and rural rediscovery have found a devoted audience across the Persian-speaking diaspora in recent years — titles rooted in seasonal beauty, communal bonds, and understated emotion translate easily across cultural distances. Sunset Sunrise arrives with both Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, making it fully accessible whether you prefer to hear the story in your first language or follow the original Japanese performances. For viewers who lived through the pandemic years abroad, the film's central question — where do we actually belong? — will land with particular weight. Fans of quiet Japanese cinema exploring identity and place will find this a thoughtful companion piece.
Where & how to watch
Sunset Sunrise is available on K-Time with full Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles. Stream it on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and you can cancel anytime. No extra download required.