A Page of Madness

During a torrential rainstorm, a patient in the psychiatric hospital dances wildly as if possessed. The elderly janitor watches over his wife, confined in a cell, bearing the weight of their shared past. The storm outside amplifies the tension inside the ward.

The janitor recalls years spent at sea, leaving his wife and daughter alone. His absences contribute to his wife's mental decline, culminating in her admission after an attempt on their child’s life. The memory explains the guilt that shadows their present.

The daughter arrives at the hospital to announce her upcoming marriage, only to be shocked to learn her father works there. Her anger and disbelief threaten to fracture the family further. The father remains a quiet presence, unseen by others as he watches from the shadows.

The daughter visits her mother’s ward and finds her unresponsive, unable to forgive her father for the past. The moment deepens the rift between generations and underscores the pain of their history. The hospital’s sterile calm contrasts with the family’s turmoil.

During a morning examination, the janitor asks the doctor about his wife’s condition, but the doctor does not respond. The exchange highlights the doctor’s reticence and the janitor’s growing sense of isolation. The moment hints at unresolved truths within the clinic.

The janitor reunites with his daughter and asks for forgiveness, inquiring about her engagement. He clings to the possibility of reconciliation, even as distance remains. The daughter’s defensiveness shields her from fully accepting him back into the family.

Later that morning, the wife is permitted a walk on the hospital lawn, quietly looking up at the sky while the servant and daughter watch from a distance. The moment offers a fragile peace before disruption returns. The setting carries a wistful sense of hope amid tension.

A brief moment of calm ends when an inmate tries to attack the daughter, forcing her to flee the hospital grounds. The incident shatters any lingering sense of safety and exposes the family’s vulnerability. Fear lingers as the routine of the hospital returns to normal.

Sometime later, one patient begins dancing, rallying the others and sparking cheers. In the ensuing commotion, one patient strikes the janitor’s wife, triggering a fight. The staff intervene and the head doctor reprimands the janitor for the disturbance.

The incident triggers a cascade of fantasies in the janitor's mind. He daydreams about winning a chest of drawers in a lottery to give his daughter as a dowry. He imagines taking his wife away to hide her from the world and even contemplates killing the head doctor; the vision spirals into a moment where a bearded inmate seems to marry his daughter.

The janitor envisions distributing noh masks to inmates, offering them happy faces while he dons an okina mask himself. The ritual-like fantasy blurs lines between control and chaos, hinting at his deteriorating grip on reality. The sequence intensifies the sense of ritualized madness within the asylum.

The janitor returns to mopping the floors, unable to visit his wife’s ward because the doctor has taken the keys. He passes the bearded inmate, who bows to him for the first time, as if bowing to his father-in-law. The closing image suggests a fragile, distorted family bond guided by a new, unsettling form of respect.