"Sokurov at his best: the elegy of History, the glory of bygone days, man's distress in the face of destiny, and cinema as an instrument to record what is already disappearing under our eyes" (Le Monde). This delicate, mesmerizing portrait of the wife of the Japanese writer Toshio Shimao, who died in 1986, captures the widow's inner world even as it concentrates on the physical lineaments of her existence. She lives on an isolated island with her disabled daughter, shunning all visitors, renouncing comfort and company. "The filmmaker here reveals the contours of memory, the contrasts of feelings and the nuances of the psyche in an impressionist manner. The only way to enter this world, to be able to approach its exquisite flavor and perverse pain, is to make a film akin to a lyrical piece of music, with tenderness, 'dolce'" (Alexandra Tuchniskaya).