The Milkwoman (いつか読書する日), Akira Ogata, 2005

Minako begins her day running up and down the hills of her hometown delivering milk door to door. When thats done, she heads to her day job as a supermarket cashier. Minako is 50 and single. In one of the houses to which she delivers milk is a man with whom she has secretly been in love since high school. The man, Keita (KISHIBE Ittoku), lives with his wife Yoko, who is terminally ill. Caring for her at home, he works in the childrens affairs section of the local municipal office. Though he insists that he wants nothing more than an ordinary existence, his life is in turmoil below the surface. The director uses a variety of narrative devices to portray the loneliness, isolation, and hope of these people who have seemingly allowed their goals and dreams to slip away, whilst keeping them agonizingly close to hand.