AllMovie

When a gold ingot and a severed human head are discovered in a small provincial town, the rush to solve the curious case wavers between tragic and darkly humorous in this defiantly original film from Linda Linda Linda director Nobuhiro Yamashita. In the 1990s, the economy in a small country town is on the downturn. When a mysterious couple moves into a local home and the once-solid relationships between the eccentric townsfolk begin to erode, it quickly becomes apparent that something is amiss. A policeman and his twin brother are consumed by tragedy, a local loafer sits around while his wife breaks her back around the house, and a pretty girl seems willing to offer her body to anyone and everyone. Later, a gold bar and a human head appear in a frozen lake, intertwining the lives of everyone in town and effectively putting an end to their quiet, unassuming lifestyle.