Sputnik, mi amor

Just as Laika, the dog orbiting the Earth on the Russian satellite Sputnik, gazed in wonder at the vast expanse of space, three characters in the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo desperately search for one another as they try to break free from the endless cycle of loneliness. The narrator, a young elementary school teacher, is in love with Sumire, whom he met at university; but she, who considers herself the ultimate rebel, has only one obsession: to become a novelist. Then, at a wedding, Sumire meets Myû, a beautiful yet enigmatic middle-aged married woman, and together they embark on a journey through Europe after which nothing will ever be the same.