The Clone Returns Home

In the tradition of Solaris and other deeply philosophical science-fiction works, The Clone Returns Home is art cinema at its best. Kohei, a young astronaut, agrees to participate in an experimental cloning program that will “regenerate” his body and memory should he die. So when he’s killed during a space mission, scientists are able to regenerate his clone. But problems occur with its memory, which regresses to Kohei’s youth and the accidental death of his twin brother. Distressed, the clone flees the lab in search of his childhood home. Along the way, he finds his own lifeless body in a space suit. Mistaking it for his brother, he continues his journey carrying the body on his back.Set somewhere between the near future and a dream, as if a figurative mist drifts through it, Kanji Nakajima’s first feature is distinguished by the metaphysical space it conjures. With each new incarnation of Kohei—his clone, his body, his soul, his twin—our literal sense of story gives way to a metaphysical one. With exceptional artistry (lyrical images, elegant moving masters, and evocative sound motifs), Nakajima explores identity, memory, and the ethical responsibilities of science. But, enriched by spiritual conceptions of life and death and the soul, the film’s emotional center and its poetry lie in these successive versions of Kohei, wandering in search of a home that no longer exists.
CAST
Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Eri Ishida, Hiromi Nagasaku

Kanji Nakajima - Kanji Nakajima makes films via a novel approach— as director, writer, cinematographer, and musician. His first feature, Fe (1994), won numerous awards at film festivals worldwide, and his second film, The Box (2002) screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and won a special mention at the Torino Film Festival.

Screenings:

Sat. Jan 17 noon - CLONE17ED Egyptian Theatre, Park City
Sun. Jan 18 7:30 p.m. - CLONE18BE Broadway Centre Cinemas IV, SLC
Tue. Jan 20 8:30 p.m. - CLONE20LN Library Center Theatre, Park City
Thu. Jan 22 11:30 p.m. - CLONE223L Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City