CLOSE-KNIT, reportedly the very first transgender-centered film made in Japan, explores
the everyday struggles of Rinku (Toma Ikuta), a transgender Japanese woman, through
the perspective of Tomo, a lonely, neglected youth (Rinka Kakihara) seeking solace
and a stable home when her mother abandons her. Tomo’s frustrations begin to be channeled
when Rinku shares her skill at knitting. The concept of the “chosen family” looms
large in this painfully tender and wistfully photographed tale of love in a time of
great strife, which also peels back the layers of provincial Japanese transphobia.
Sam Berliner. “Translations 2018 Program Final.” 2018. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a86d494b1ffb6251b62962f/t/5ed2e4ffbdbbdb299cca987b/1590879522466/Translations18_Program_final.pdf.
