Kisin Saito’s debut feature, “Kefi,” follows three adult sisters as they return to their childhood home in Fukui prefecture after their estranged father dies. What begins as a story of grief and family reconciliation soon veers into a surreal mix of aliens, drugs, dinosaurs and junk food.
The film unfolds over a single day and is divided into four chapters: “Human,” “Triangle,” “Punishment” and “Reunion.” Asumi (Riho Takada) lives alone in the family home, while her free-spirited older sister Kyo (Mari Iriki) and younger sister Kino (Konatsu Kato) arrive from elsewhere. Kino brings her boyfriend, Kai (Tone Kaiya), with her.
Kyo is involved with two identical extraterrestrials who crave tacky Americana. At their urging, she takes an experimental drug called Kefi that lets her switch bodies with her sexual partners. Meanwhile, Kai visits a remote clinic after seeing an advertisement promising to help people find their “true self.” The clinic is based in the sisters’ old home, where Asumi works as a counselor. After Kai is secretly drugged, he and Asumi enter a shared dream space.
Other storylines take the film further from conventional family drama. A traditional washi paper-maker appears in a segment that includes documentary-like details about his work and a shocking sexual assault. Another character, Rin (Koto Ishikawa), interacts with the aliens before rampaging through town, shouting at dinosaur models and breaking into houses.
The film draws on Saito’s experience of losing his father in 2024, which he has said inspired him to make “Kefi” and process his grief. Yet its characters avoid confronting their emotions directly, while the tone moves between surrealism and romance. The result can feel disjointed, though the film ultimately reaches a moment of sibling connection that offers an emotionally satisfying close without resolving every plot thread.
Saito, previously a cinematographer, writes and directs the film, with Sigma Sudo’s cinematography shifting between vivid colors and stark monochrome. “Kefi” pairs its visual confidence with an eclectic electronic score, creating a debut that is distinctive but likely to divide viewers.
Sources: Variety.