“Homo Affectus”
Directed by Hiroyuki Oda
The Marunouchi Movie Club is one of the six “Hobby Clubs” that Hirano started in 2025, and it has now been running for a year. We watch a film selected by the club’s leader Hiroyuki Oda, who is himself a film director, and afterwards we share our thoughts and impressions with one another.
One of the films that left a particularly strong impression on us was Homo Affectus, a documentary directed by Hiroyuki Oda himself. Through the life of Masayuki Okahara, Professor Emeritus at Keio University in Tokyo, who has researched the sociology of emotions and sociological practice through art, the film explores the question of how we engage with our emotions and how we express them. It was a deeply thought-provoking and moving work.
The film also prompted us to consider whether art is about more than just interpreting what the creator intended to convey, but is something that comes to life within each person who encounters the work. Rather than focusing solely on the creator’s intentions, we were invited to step back and ask ourselves what we had felt and what we had received from the film. It was a memorable encounter with cinema that encouraged us to reflect on our own responses to a work of art.
Next time, we are planning to watch The Other Son, a 2012 French film directed by Lorraine Lévy. The story follows two 18-year-olds, one raised in an Israeli family and the other in a Palestinian family, who discover that they were accidentally switched at birth and have grown up with families other than their biological ones. The film won both the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix and the Best Director Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
The Marunouchi Movie Club welcomes everyone. Why not join us for a film and an opportunity to share your thoughts together?
By Mari Tanaka
TMP General Admin
MCT Sunday Service
October 18th, November 29th, December 20th
9:45
MCT Wednesday Evening Service
October 7th, 21st, November 4th, 18th, December 16th
18:30
Marunouchi Hobby Club Activities
Running Club: October 1st, 29th, November 26th
Movie Club: October 14th, November 11th
Art Club: November 19th
Islamic Culture Club (from Christian perspective): September 30th, October 28th
Classic Concert Club: November 5th
Please contact us for details
Hirano (jbhirano@tokyomarunouchipartnership.com)
