The Idiot Son

Feature Film - Part of a larger series titled 'Scar Tissue' which deals with the wounds caused by interpersonal relationships and the remaining scars which bear witness to the journey the journey towards healing.

Writer/Director - Alec Von Bargen
Producer - Ewa Puszczyńska
Producers - Agustina Chiarino, Amra Bakšić Čamo
Co-Producer - Sandra Hagsater Watteuw
Feature Film - 100 Minutes - Japanese, Polish, English

1963 - Hiroshima, Japan

On occasion of the approaching 20th anniversary of the nuclear bombings, renowned Japanese author, Kenzaburo Oe (29), is commissioned to travel to Hiroshima to interview, document, and archive testimonies from survivors of the tragic event; his findings to serve as a contemporary witness to the atrocities of nuclear war. The material is also intended for worldwide conferences, the first of which will take place in Warsaw, Poland, the most destroyed city in WWII and where the Soviets, under Khrushchev’s orders, are stocking nuclear warheads.

Whilst away, his wife gives birth to their firstborn; a child cursed with a rare physical defect and little chance to survive.

Aguri (24), a young hibakusha (survivor of the atomic bomb) has for over 15 years lived hidden amongst the shadows of her home, shielding her severely scarred body from a society still struggling with the shame of the past. She dreams of Africa, of singing with Motown girl groups whilst growing poisonous Oleander flowers to ingest in an attempt to control her own destiny.

It is during Kenzaburo’s final interview in Hiroshima before returning to his family’s side that Kenzaburo meets Aguri; an encounter which will force him to face his own demons, will see him choose the gift of life or death for his severely deformed son and ultimately, will inspire him to write the novel which awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature: A Personal Matter.