In the suburban housing complex of Osaka, residents are constantly preoccupied with issues like mixing recyclables with burnables or the noise from a neighbor’s quarrel. Yet, Hinako (Naomi Fujiyama) and Seiji (Ittoku Kishibe) remain indifferent. The elderly couple, who relocated six months ago after their herbal medicine shop shut down, are reluctantly trying to rebuild their lives. But when Seiji vanishes, rumors start swirling around the apartment: divorce, murder, dismemberment? As the tale spirals out of control, and a mysterious man with a parasol places a large order for natural remedies, the reality turns out to be even more extraordinary than the gossip. Blending sharp comedy of errors, absurdist adventure, and touching late-life romance, “The Projects” emerges as one of the year’s most unexpected delights.