is a 2005

Japanese film The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that ea ...

directed by

Kazuyuki Izutsu is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and film critic. Career Born in Nara Prefecture, Izutsu started making 8mm films in high school, and directed his first 35mm film, a pink film, in 1975. He earned a citation from the Directors Guild ...

Plot

Romeo, A.K.A. Kosuke Matsuyama ( Shun Shioya), is a second-year high school student. A nice, normal, nonviolent type, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a rampaging crowd of Korean boys, outraged by insults perpetrated by several of his idiotic classmates on two Korean girls. He makes a narrow escape, but soon after, he and his best bud Yoshio (

Keisuke Koide is a Japanese actor who starred in Kwak Jae-yong's film ''Cyborg She'' and in ''Koizora''. Career In 2017, Koide admitted to drinking alcohol and having sex with a 17-year-old girl after allegations were published in ''Friday''. He was suspend ...

) are sent by their home-room teacher to invite the Korean students to a friendly soccer game as a way of restoring the peace. Trembling like black-uniformed leaves, they enter enemy territory, where Kosuke encounters a doll-faced, but serious-looking girl, Lee Kyung-ja (

Erika Sawajiri is a Japanese former actress, singer, and model. After starting out as a junior model, Sawajiri transitioned to acting in 2002 and has starred in ''Break Through!'', ''Shinobi: Heart Under Blade'', and ''1 Litre no Namida (TV series), 1 Litre of ...

) playing a Korean folk song, "

Rimjin River The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The river i ...

," on a flute. He and Yoshio are also nearly lynched by her older brother Lee An-sung ( Sosuke Takaoka) and his gang, but he is already smitten—and eager to learn that haunting tune. The story concentrates on Kosuke's struggle to not only master a song but win the love of a girl who seems to live in an alien, hostile world. Meanwhile, Ang Son and his crew are street-fighting with Japanese toughs as if playing a contact sport, with one side scoring hits, then the other. He is macho to a fault, but when he learns that his sweetheart (Kyoko Yanagihara) is pregnant and determined to keep the baby, he faces a choice that makes him quail: grow up or cop-out.

Cast

* Shun Shioya as Kosuke Matsuyama (松山浩介), the main protagonist and a second-year student who falls in love with a girl of Korean origin, Lee Kyung-ja. *

as Norio Yoshida (吉田紀男), Kosuke Matsuyama's best friend. *

Sousuke Takaoka is a Japanese former actor, known for his break-out performance in the controversial movie '' Battle Royale''. Career His break-out performance was in the controversial movie '' Battle Royale'', in which he played the pacifistic Hiroki Sugimur ...

as Lee An-sung (이안성/イ・アンソン), a

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 ...

troublemaker who is the hot headed older brother of Lee Kyung-ja. *

as Lee Kyung-ja (이경자/イ・キョンジャ), a

student who studies in a North korean school in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

and Lee An-sung's shy younger sister who dreams of becoming a movie star. She's also the love interest of Kosuke Matsuyama. *

Kazuki Namioka is a Japanese actor. He made his acting debut in the television series ''Pride''. He appeared in Hiroshi Shinagawa's 2009 debut film ''Drop''. He also co-starred with Kōji Yakusho in Takashi Miike's '' 13 Assassins''. Filmography Films * ''Bre ...

as Motoki Bang-ho (모토키 방호/モトキ・バンホー), Lee An-sung's best friend. *

Hiroyuki Onoue (born July 16, 1985), is a Japanese actor from Osaka Prefecture. Selected filmography TV drama *''Doremisora'' (2002) *'' Journey Under the Midnight Sun'' (2006) *''Ryōmaden'' (2010), Itō Shunsuke *''Carnation'' (2011) *''Hana Moyu'' (2015) ...

as Park Jae-dok (박재독/パク・ジェドク), Lee An-sung's younger brother. * Kyoko Yanagihara as Momoko (桃子), Lee An-sung's girlfriend who gets pregnant by him, making him make a decision about his life. * Yoko Maki as Chun Gang-ja (전강자/チョン・ガンジャ), the best martial artist in the North korean school and the friend of Lee An-sung, Motoki and Jae-dok. * Noriko Eguchi as Hyeyoung (혜영/ヘヨン), Chun Gang-ja's best friend

Awards

48th

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan. The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japanes ...

* Won: Best Film 27th

Yokohama Film Festival The is an annual awards ceremony held in Yokohama, Japan. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year and various awards are given to personnel. The first festival, held on February 3, 1980, was a small affair by fans and film critics. In 1994, ...

* Won: Best Film * Won: Best Director -

* Won: Best Cinematography -

Hideo Yamamoto is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known as the creator of the manga series ''Ichi the Killer'', which was adapted into a live-action film by Takashi Miike in 2001, and ''Homunculus''. Recurring themes in his manga are crime, sexual dev ...

* Won: Best Newcomer -

and Shun Shioya

References

2005 films Films directed by Kazuyuki Izutsu 2000s Japanese-language films Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners Zainichi Korean culture 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub