is a 2008

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 ...

written and directed by

Tetsuya Nakashima Tetsuya Nakashima (中島哲也) (born 1959) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He was born in Fukuoka, attending high school in Chikushino. His 2010 film '' Confessions'' was awarded Best Picture at the Japanese Academy Awards, where ...

, based on a play by Hirohito Gotō. It was shown at the Munich Asian Filmfest in 2008 and has been nominated for three awards for the 2009

Asian Film Awards Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

. Actors

Kōji Yakusho , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor. He is well known for his starring roles in ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996), ''Cure'' (1997), ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005), ''13 Assassins'' (2010), '' The Third Murder'' (2017), ''The Blood of Wolve ...

and Ayaka Wilson and director

have been nominated for the 2008

Japanese Academy Award 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- ...

Synopsis

The movie is set in a hospital where "strange" people are sent. One of the older, gruffer patients, is Onuki, a business owner who is sent to the hospital after a heart attack, thinks little of the other hospital patients, and hopes to die without being remembered by such "worthless" people. Another patient, a young girl named Paco, is in the hospital due to a memory disorder- she can only remember the events of one day at a time. Each day she reads a pop-up children's book, and often asks Onuki to read to her. Each day it is a new story for her. Eventually, the two of them develop a friendship, and Onuki decides to enlist the help of the other people in the hospital to perform a play of the book, hoping it will help Paco.

Cast

*Ōnuki (Prince Gama):

*Paco: Ayaka Wilson *Muromachi (the demon crawfish):

Satoshi Tsumabuki is a Japanese actor. His breakthrough film was ''Waterboys'' for which he was nominated for the 'Best Actor' award at the Japanese Academy Awards, and won the 'Newcomer of the Year' prize. He is also the bassist and lead singer of the Japanese ...

*Tamako (the ricefish):

Anna Tsuchiya is a Japanese singer, actress and semi-retired model. Since 2005, she is primarily known as a singer.Oricon pr ...

*Horigome (the dragonfly larva):

Sadao Abe is a Japanese actor, stage actor and musician from Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. He started his acting career after joining a theater company/talent agency, Otona Keikaku, in around 1992 and gained his popularity after the drama series '' Team Med ...

*Kōichi (the water strider):

Ryō Kase is a Japanese actor. Early life Kase was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. He moved to Bellevue, Washington in the United States soon after his birth, due to his father's job being transferred. He's father Yutaka Kase was former chairman a ...

*Masami (the swamp shrimp witch):

Eiko Koike is a Japanese actress. Biography Koike starred in Kunitoshi Manda's film '' The Kiss''. She appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2012 television drama ''Penance,'' and co-starred in Junji Sakamoto's ''A Chorus of Angels'' with Sayuri Yoshinaga. She ...

*Ryūmonji (the whirligig beetle): Takaya Yamauchi *Kinomoto (Queen Gama):

Jun Kunimura is a Japanese actor who has performed in Japan, Hollywood and Hong Kong. He won Best Supporting Actor and the Popular Star Award at the 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards for his performance in the South Korean horror film '' The Wailing'', directed ...

*Takita (the fish):

Gekidan Hitori , known by the stage name is a Japanese comedian, lyricist, actor, novelist, and film director. He is mainly known his improvisational ability and for his style of physical comedy. Gekidan is represented with Ohta Production. His wife is '' ...

*Asano (the pond snail):

Takaya Kamikawa is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. Biography Kamikawa was born in Hachioji, Tokyo in 1965. He graduated from Hachioji-Kita high school in Tokyo. While studying economics in Chuo University, he acted in a minor theatrical group whi ...

References

External links

Official Site
* 2008 films 2000s Japanese-language films Films directed by Tetsuya Nakashima Japanese films based on plays Japanese fantasy drama films Films set in hospitals Films about amnesia Toho films Cross-dressing in film Films about theatre Films with live action and animation 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub