Earthquake Bird

Lucy Fly, a foreign translator living in Tokyo, becomes entangled with Teiji, a mysterious photographer whose work seems to blur art and obsession. Their relationship draws Lucy into a shadowy world where desire clashes with doubt. A complex dynamic soon surfaces when Lily Bridges, a friend with her own secrets, enters the picture, turning longing into rivalry. Set against late 1980s Tokyo with its rain slick streets and neon glow, the story follows Lucy as she tries to trust what she sees and what she remembers. The film keeps things deliberately opaque, inviting questions about truth, memory and how love can bend perception.

Released in 2019, Earthquake Bird is directed by Wash Westmoreland and adapts Susanna Jones's novel. The English language thriller uses Tokyo as a moody backdrop to examine obsession, desire, and the uncertain line between reality and imagination.

Box office data for Earthquake Bird are limited, reflecting a modest release and streaming strategy rather than broad distribution. Official numbers were not widely publicized by studios or distributors.

While not a household title, Earthquake Bird stands out for its moody aesthetic and Lucy's view of Tokyo filtered through a translator's eye. It occupies a quiet corner of English language thrillers set abroad and has not spawned a flood of imitators or iconic catchphrases. Still, its emphasis on atmosphere over action sometimes resonates with viewers who crave psychological texture over spectacle.

Critics were split on pace but often noted that the film creates mood through restraint and precise performances. Alicia Vikander carries Lucy with a quiet mixture of vulnerability and stubborn resolve, while the mystery lingers around memory reliability and the cost of chasing the truth. Teiji's enigmatic charisma and Lily's layered presence add tension without fully exposing what lies beneath, leaving questions about how bias, time, and desire color what we remember and how we judge what we see.