is a 2009 Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Toshio Gotō is a Japanese Film director, director. He had worked as an assistant director of Satsuo Yamamoto from 1962 to 1978. He directed his first film in 1978. His 2009 film ''Beauty (2009 film), Beauty'' was entered into the 31st Moscow International Fi ...

. The film explores themes of love, beauty,

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

, and the strength of human spirit. It was entered into the

31st Moscow International Film Festival The 31st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 19 to 28 June 2009. The Golden George was awarded to the Russian film '' Pete on the Way to Heaven'' directed by Nikolai Dostal. Jury * Pavel Lungin (Russia – President of the Jury) * ...

Plot

Film is set in a small village of Ina district,

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

, Japan, in the 1930s. Hanji, a young boy, sees the performance of a

for the first time as a dedication event in the village. He is fascinated by the performance of Yukio, a character as young as Hanji, who dances as "Tenryu Koishibuki". He begins to learn the Kabuki with Yukio and Utako, a girl friend, and soon becomes an excellent actor. One day in 1944, Hanji and Yukio received the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

cards. The tide of the war was against Japan. The village people held the final stage of the Kabuki for the two young men who might never return there again. After war was over, Japan was defeated. Hanji and Yukio survived the war, but they were detained in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. A few years after, only Hanji could return to the village and met Utako again. He saw that the village people were utterly dejected by the war. Hanji decided that he would revive the Kabuki and the village. In the 1980s, Hanji is aware that he is near the end of his life. The village people hold the final performance of Kabuki for Hanji, and he dances "Tenryu Koishibuki" for Yukio.

Cast

* Takataro Kataoka as Hanji *

Kataoka Ainosuke VI is a Japanese actor, kabuki actor and TV host. His ''yagō'' is ''matsushimaya''. His '' mon'' is the ''Oikake Go-mai Ichō''. His current stage name is Ainosuke Kataoka. He is a renowned '' tachiyaku'', specializing in both the ''aragoto'' and ' ...

as Yukio *

Kumiko Asō , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress. She is also a model and has participated in several commercials. Career In 1995, Asō made her film debut in ''Bad Guy Beach''. With her role in the 1998 film ''Dr. Akagi'', she received ...

as Utako

References

External links

* 2009 films 2009 drama films Films set in the 1930s Japanese drama films 2000s Japanese-language films 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub