Tokage concerns a love affair between two healers who are unable to heal their own psychic wounds. The narrator is a counselor for disturbed children. He has fallen in love with a profoundly sad woman nicknamed Lizard who longs for oblivion. Lizard has an uncanny ability to diagnose and treat other people’s illnesses. The story follows their mutual fumbling towards the point where they can share with each other their most personal stories. The relationship – two depressives in despair, who seek mutual healing. Based on the short story by Banana Yoshimoto. Tokage was commissioned by television network NHK for a series in which the works of famous Japanese authors would be narrated on film, as captured by noteworthy directors. Shot on hi-def video, Tokage follows actress Ryô as she reads Yoshimoto’s text. Tsukamoto films under a variety of light sources, primarily natural – they filmed it in a single continuous shot at sundown.