Nikoniko Film

In the Meiji Period, in the 19th century Japan, transitioning towards modernization, BLACK OX explores the relationship between man and ox, inspired by the “Ten Ox-Herding Pictures” a series of short poems and illustrations from Zen Buddhism tradition that depict the path to enlightenment and spiritual awakening. BLACK OX follows the life of a Man, a former hunter-gatherer who loses his connection to the gods of nature and to his spirituality in the process of becoming a farmer and becoming “Japanese” during the nation’s period of westernization in the Meiji Period. Transitioning from a life in the mountains to a life in the farm, one day he comes across a Black Ox. He somehow succeeds in leading the reluctant animal back to his home, and begins living with it. The OX becomes his companion in a life of seasons in the attempt to reconnect with nature.

As a tunnel construction project threatens the natural order of one of Japan's last untouched regions, an old man and his granddaughter Haruna's humble lifestyle begins to influence the outlook of a man from Tokyo.

A case-hardened cop is pitted against a young eco-terrorist. The title "island" is an artificial construct in Tokyo Bay, a mountain of garbage, a by-product of Japan’s economic boom years. The film’s protagonist Alan works there, almost buried under society’s detritus; his growing obsession with the search for “what has been lost” turns him into a "dangerous" activist. He targets the industrialist Wada, whose chemical factory secretly discharges toxic waste into the environment. But the cop Terayama, who thought he’d seen it all, starts researching eco-activism and soon suspects the haunted, taciturn young man he’s encountered in the neighborhood.