JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL 2026: Tokyo Taxi

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Film veteran YAMADA Yoji returns with his 91st feature, a moving reflection on memory, compassion and the power of human connection.

USAMI Koji (KIMURA Takuya) is a taxi driver who works tirelessly to keep his family afloat, while mounting financial pressures and his daughter’s tuition fees weigh heavily on his mind. One morning he is hired by 85-year-old TAKANO Sumire(BAISHO Chieko) who is beginning the long journey from Tokyo to a nursing home in Kanagawa.

Initially reserved with one another, the pair gradually connect as Sumire asks Koji to make a series of detours— small pilgrimages throughout Tokyo to farewell the city she once knew. As Sumire shares memories of a life marked by war, loss and domestic hardship, Koji listens with quiet attention, and neither will be left unchanged by the time they arrive at their destination.

A remake of the acclaimed French-Belgian drama Driving Madeleine, master YAMADA Yoji lends a warm and deeply humanistic touch to this tender road movie about the transformative power of a stranger’s kindness. BAISHO Chieko brings luminous depth to Sumire's story of resilience and fierce independence, earning the Protected content Academy Prize for Best Actress more than six decades into her extraordinary career.

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Runtime:104 mins
Language:Japanese
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Rating: Protected content
Cast: BAISHO Chieko, KIMURA Takuya