is a Japanese film, directed by

Yōichi Sai was a Japanese film director. He was the president of the Directors Guild of Japan. Life and career Sai was born on 6 July 1949 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. His mother was Japanese and his father was Zainichi Korean. Sai won the Best Screenp ...

and starring

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

. It is based on the

semi-autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...

''Chi to Hone'' by

Zainichi Korean comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

author Yan Sogiru (Yang Seok-il). The film opened in Japan on November 6, 2004. It was released on DVD in Japan on April 6, 2005 and South Korea on May 16, 2005.

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...

distributed it in Australia, while

Tartan Video Palisades Tartan is a British/American film distribution company, founded by US-based Palisades Media Group to take over the film library of film distributor Tartan Films after it folded in the summer of 2008. History Tartan Films, established i ...

was originally slated to release it in North America. These plans, however, were cancelled due to the company's closure and Kino Entertainment instead took the rights. It was released on DVD in North America on November 11, 2008. The soundtrack was composed by veteran composer

Taro Iwashiro is a Japanese composer. Career Iwashiro has composed the music for many Japanese television series and films. He has composed for both '' Red Cliff'' films, '' Shinobi: Heart Under Blade'', ''Azumi'', ''The Prince of Tennis'', '' Rurouni Kenshin ...

and was later released on iTunes. The film was nominated for 12

Japanese Academy Awards The , often called the Japan Academy Prize, the Japan Academy Awards, and the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association (日本アカデミー賞協会, ''Nippon Akademii- ...

and won four, including Best Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay. It was Japan's official submission for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

78th Academy Awards The 78th Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST. The ceremony was ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

In 1923, the young Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island (South Korea), to

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

(Japan). Through the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of

kamaboko is a type of cured , a processed seafood product common in Japanese cuisine. is made by forming various pureed deboned white fish with either natural or man-made additives and flavorings into distinctive loaves, which are then steamed u ...

(processed seafood products) in his poor Korean-Japanese community, where he exploits his employees. He makes a fortune, abuses and destroys the lives of his wife and family, has many mistresses and children and shows no respect to anyone. Later he closes the factory, lending out the money with high interest and becomes a

loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

. His hateful behavior remains unchanged to his last breath, alone in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. The film is told from the perspective of Masao, his legitimate son by his abused and degraded wife, who knows nothing about his father other than to fear him.

Cast

- Shunpei Kim (김순페이/キム・シュンペイ) *

Hirofumi Arai is a third-generation Zainichi Korean former actor. Career Arai made his screen debut in Isao Yukisada's '' Go'' in 2001 when he was 22 years old. His next film role was the emotionally disturbed senior high school student Aoki in Toshiaki Toy ...

- Masao Kim (김마사오/キム・マサオ) *

Tomoko Tabata is a Japanese actress. She won the best supporting actress award from the Mainichi in 2004 for ''The Hidden Blade'' and ''Blood and Bones'', and the best actress award at the Mainichi Film Awards for ''The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky'' in 2012. ...

- Hanako Kim (김하나코/キム・ハナコ) *

Joe Odagiri , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor and musician. Personal life Joe Odagiri was born in Tsuyama, Okayama prefecture. Though he was accepted by Kochi University, he turned it down for an opportunity to study in the United States ...

- Takeshi Park (박타케시/パク・タケシ) *

Kyōka Suzuki is a Japanese actress. Life and career Suzuki appeared in Shinji Aoyama's '' Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name'' and Yōichi Sai's ''Blood and Bones''. She won the Best Actress award at the 1998 Yokohama Film Festival for her role in ''Wel ...

- Yong-hee Lee (이용희/イ・ヨンヒ) *

Yutaka Matsushige is a Japanese actor. Career Matsushige has appeared in the films such as ''EM Embalming'', ''Adrenaline Drive'', ''Last Life in the Universe'', and ''Outrage Beyond''. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 31st Yokohama Film Festiv ...

- Nobuyoshi Ko (高信義) *

Mari Hamada is a Japanese heavy metal and pop rock singer. Since her debut in 1983, Hamada has been known as the "Heavy Metal Queen" of Japan. Throughout her career, she has released 25 singles and 23 studio albums. Biography Early history Mari Hama ...

- Sadako Toritani (鳥谷定子) *

Yūko Nakamura is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema 2001 for the film Firefly'' (Hotaru) ''and the award for best supporting actress at the 28th Yokohama Film Festival for S ...

- Kiyoko Yamanashi (山梨清子) *

Kazuki Kitamura is a Japanese film and television actor who won the award for best supporting actor at the 21st Yokohama Film Festival for '' Minazuki'', ''Kyohansha'' and ''Kanzen-naru shiiku'' as well as the CUT ABOVE Award for Excellence in Film at JAPAN CUTS ...

- Yoshio Motoyami (元闇義夫) *

Susumu Terajima is a Japanese actor. Though he has played a wide range of characters, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of ''yakuza'' figures, most notably in the films of Takeshi Kitano. Terajima made his acting debut in 1986's ''A Homansu''. He ...

- Hee-bom Park (박희봄/パク・ヒボム) * Atsushi Itō - Yong-il (영일/ヨンイル) / Young Joon-pyong (영준평/ヨン・ジュンピョン)

References

External links

* *
Official site (in Japanese)

2004 films Films directed by Yōichi Sai Films scored by Taro Iwashiro Films about domestic violence 2000s Korean-language films 2000s Japanese-language films 2004 drama films Japanese drama films 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub