The Present (2007)

Miyoko Takahashi is a friendly but lonely Japanese woman, who lives in a humble apartment in Sydney. Awaking one morning she looks immediately at the calendar on the wall opposite. Well at least in that direction- even with her glasses on the calendar remains shapeless until Miyoko is directly in front of it. The date; August 6th, is circled and marked with the number 62. Miyoko nods. Miyoko's expression grows gloomy as she watches the day's headlines: news of a shooting, bird flu and the successful testing of a nuclear weapon. She brightens at the day's birthday announcements but then switches off the TV disappointedly. The doorbell buzzes. A pretty Young Woman smiles at Miyoko, her arms filled with flowers and a large box. Miyoko exclaims excitedly to herself in Japanese: 'She remembered!' The Young Woman pushes the box at her, asking if Miyoko wouldn't mind taking care of her pet ferret while her family takes her grandmother away on a trip to celebrate her seventieth birthday. Miyoko agrees reluctantly. The young woman departs and Miyoko place the box down on a sideboard. Suddenly her eyes close tight against pain that arrives in a flash of rainbow light. In the foyer of the building two men string up the last letters of a large coloured banner. Miyoko whispers in Japanese: 'They remembered!' Moving closer, her face lights up as the banner's first letters are revealed : 'H A' then drops again as she realises that it actually says: 'Have a Say in Your Building's Safety.' Miyoko gazes into a shop window filled with Japanese greeting cards before the flashes of pain take her again. A plane buzzes overhead. She opens her eyes to catch the friendly smile of a little girl who waves then disappears down the street. Miyoko wanders into a park and finally spots the little girl sitting on the grass with two others. They fold pieces of paper in half. Miyoko's face fills with emotion as she exclaims: "They" A cacophony of sound erupts as a group of older children swoop, attacking the little girls with paper planes. A plane roars overhead as Miyoko is overcome by the painful rainbow light. Miyoko's Specialist greets her in the waiting room of his surgery. He shows her MRI scans but to her they appear to be images from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima: a destroyed city, a mother breastfeeding her burnt baby, a boy without a face. The Specialist shows Miyoko images of her own destroyed back, tumours poke through the burnt skin. He tells her that he can't rule out the possibilty of future tumours occurring. Miyoko is silent. The Specialist says "It was today, wasn't it Miyoko?" Miyoko's face fills with emotion. "Yes" she replies. The Specialist holds Miyoko's arm as he leads her through a group of smiling people, down to a river. Miyoko places a bright lantern in the water. Around her waving banners proclaim: 'We remember Hiroshima Day.'