is a 2014 Japanese drama film directed by

Ryūichi Hiroki is a Japanese film director. He won critical acclaim for ''800 Two Lap Runners''. Film critic and researcher Alexander Jacoby has described Hiroki as "one of the modern Japanese cinema's most intelligent students of character". Biography ''Pink ...

, starring

Shota Sometani is a Japanese actor from Koto, Tokyo. He is known for his protagonist roles in ''Himizu'' and ''Parasyte''. Career Sometani was a child actor. He has worked in both film and television, gaining his first leading role in ''Pandora's Box'', ...

and

Atsuko Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48, and was one of the most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "absolute ace", "immovable center", and the "Face of AKB." After ...

. It was selected to be screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the

2014 Toronto International Film Festival The 39th annual Toronto International Film Festival, the 39th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held in Canada from 4–14 September 2014. David Dobkin's film '' The Judge'', starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duv ...

Plot

Having lost his job at a five-star hotel, Toru (

) is now a manager of a

love hotel A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for sexual activities. The name originates from "Hotel Love" in Osaka, which was built in 1968 and had a rotating s ...

in the titular district of Kabukicho in Tokyo. Toru's girlfriend, Saya (

) is an aspiring singer. Saya doesn't know that Toru manages a love hotel. She ends up being a client there one night, where Toru discovers that she has agreed to sleep with a music executive so she can get a record deal.

Cast

as Toru Takahashi *

as Saya Iijima *

Lee Na-ra Lee Na-ra (born August 22, 1980) is a South Korean actress. She has worked on films such as '' Moebius'' and ''Kabukicho Love Hotel''. In 2013, she was nominated for Best New Actress at the 34th Blue Dragon Film Awards. Filmography Feature film ...

as Hena * Roy (Son Il-kwon) as Chong-su *

Kaho Minami is a Japanese actress of Korean descent active in film, television and commercials. Life and career Kaho Minami was born on January 20, 1964, in Amagasaki in Hyogo, Japan, and is of third-generation Korean descent. She graduated from Toho Ga ...

as Satomi Suzuki *

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 Festi ...

as Yasuo Ikezawa *

Nao Ōmori , sometimes credited as Nao Ohmori or Nao Omori, is a Japanese actor. He was given the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2004 Yokohama Film Festival. Career Omori starred in Takashi Miike's ''Ichi the Killer''. He co-starred with Shinobu Teraji ...

as Kazuki Takenaka *

Jun Murakami is a Japanese actor. He is not to be confused with Japanese stunt actor Jun Murakami. Career Murakami starred in Sho Miyake's ''Playback'' (2012). He co-starred in Sion Sono's '' The Land of Hope'' (2012) with Megumi Kagurazaka. He has also a ...

as Kagehisa Amemiya *

Tomorowo Taguchi is a Japanese actor, film director and musician. After leaving Dokkyo University without graduating, he started to earn his living as an illustrator, writer and pornographic cartoonist. He joined a theatre called Hakken no Kai in 1978 and he ma ...

as Masashi Kubota *

Shugo Oshinari is a Japanese actor. Career Oshinari co-starred in Shunji Iwai's ''All About Lily Chou-Chou'' with Hayato Ichihara. He also appeared in films such as Kenta Fukasaku's '' Battle Royale II: Requiem'' and Takahisa Zeze's ''Heaven's Story''. Filmog ...

as Masaya Hayase * Miwako Wagatsuma as Hinako Fukumoto * Aoba Kawai as Rikako Fujita * Tom Miyazaki as Ryuhei Shinjo * Asuka Hinoi as Miyu Takahashi

Reception

Don Brown of ''

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

'' called it "one of Hiroki's most purely entertaining and satisfying films to date".

References

External links

* * 2014 films 2014 drama films Japanese drama films 2010s Japanese-language films Films directed by Ryūichi Hiroki Films set in hotels 2010s Japanese films {{2010s-Japan-film-stub