Laundry (2002)

Laundry is a Japanese movie written and directed by Junichi Mori. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2002 and was jointly released by ROBOT and Xanadeux in Japan on March 9, 2002.

In the film, Yosuke Kubozuka stars as a mentally handicapped teenager named Teru who spends his days taking care of his grandmother’s laundromat, as he has done since he was a small child. One day, a young woman named Mizue (Koyuki) leaves behind a piece of clothing and Teru becomes determined to return it to her.

Mizue recently suffered through a bad relationship, and she finds herself drawn to Teru’s sincere, kind-hearted nature. The two become acquainted, but when the laundromat closes down and Teru’s grandmother dies, the oft-troubled Mizue stands by his side at the toughest moment of his life.