Asyle was shown at the Arnolfini, on Saturday 13 March, as part of the Girls on Film festival.

Four women’s lives are gently approached and glided over in this introspective and quiet movie. The story skips from character to character in a plot centred around an open terrace above a ‘love motel’ which rents rooms by rest periods rather than nights.

Mika, a 13 year old runaway, finds her way to the terrace where she is surrounded by people of all ages who seek to escape the concrete city life. There is a playground, a shed, benches and games on top of the motel and each night Tsuyako, the owner, shoos them away. The stories behind each of the characters slowly unravel to reveal a loneliness and lack of connection. In this tale of modern life, people get lost in a busy city and it isn’t until necessity brings them together that they step outside the solemn day to day reality and find that they were all connected already.

A beautiful film that is definitely worth watching.

Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA, +44 (0)117 9172300 / 01
boxoffice@arnolfini.org.uk, http://www.arnolfini.org.uk