is a 2015 Japanese biographical

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by Cellin Gluck. It depicts the life of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara who was appointed a vice-consul and later a consul in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and served there from 1939 to 1940 and who saved lives of some 6,000 Jewish refugees by issuing transit visas to the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

. Even though most of the film is set in

Interwar Lithuania The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded many thousands of years ago, but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD. Lithuanians, one of the Balts, Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring la ...

, various places in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

were chosen for filming. The Polish cargo ship SS ''Sołdek'' also appeared in the movie.

Plot

Chiune Sugihara is a Japanese diplomat working in Lithuania. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with the help of Dutch diplomat Jan Zwartendijk, he attempts to save many Jews from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

by issuing transit visas to Japan. The film depicts Sugihara's life from the period when he was a student in Waseda University.

Cast

Toshiaki Karasawa (real name Kiyoshi Karasawa (唐澤潔 ''Karasawa Kiyoshi'')) is a Japanese theatre and film actor. He made his theatrical debut in the play ''Boy's Revue Stay Gold'' (ボーイズレビュー・ステイゴールド ''Bōizu Rebyū Sutei Gōrud ...

– Chiune Sugihara *

Koyuki , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese model and actress. She rose to fame in the drama '' Kimi wa Petto'' with Jun Matsumoto and gained huge popularity, as well as the hit film ''The Last Samurai''. Career Actor career Koyuki appeared ...

– Yukiko Sugihara (Chiune's wife) *

Borys Szyc Borys Michał Szyc-Michalak (; born Borys Michalak; 4 September 1978) is a Polish film and theatre actor and musician. Life and career He was born in Łódź, Poland. He graduated from High School No. 26 in Łódź. In 2001, he graduated from Wa ...

– Pesh (ペシュ ''Pesshu'') *

Agnieszka Grochowska Agnieszka Grochowska (born 31 December 1979) is a Polish film and theatre actress. Life She was born on 31 December 1979 in Warsaw. She graduated from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, National Academy of Dr ...

– Irina (イリーナ ''Irīna'') * Fumiyo Kohinata – Ambassador Oshima * – Wolfgang Gudze (グッジェ ''Gujje'') *

Michał Żurawski Michał Żurawski () is a Polish theater, film, television, radio and dubbing actor. Brother of the actor Piotr Żurawski. Selected filmography References External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zurawski, Michał Living people 1979 births P ...

– Nyiszli (ニシェリ ''Nisheri'') *

Zbigniew Zamachowski Zbigniew Zamachowski (; born 17 July 1961) is a Polish actor. Life and career He was born on 17 July 1961 in Brzeziny near Łódź. Zamachowski graduated from the actor's faculty of the National Film School in Łódź. He began his acting career ...

– Avraham Goehner (ガノール社長 ''Ganōru-shachō'') *

Andrzej Blumenfeld Andrzej Stanisław Blumenfeld (12 August 1951 in Zabrze – 14 August 2017 in Warsaw) was a Polish film, television, and voice actor who worked for SDI Media Polska. Filmography *'' The Young Magician'' (1987) - Teacher *''Legend of the White H ...

– Chaim Rosenthal *

Takashi Tsukamoto is a Japanese actor, singer, and model. He has released three single CDs: "Itsudemo Boku wa" (いつでも僕は, Anytime I am...), "Hitorigoto" (ヒ・ト・リ・ゴ・ト, Soliloquy), "New Morning". He also portrayed the character Shinji Mi ...

– Minamikawa (南川欽吾) *

Gaku Hamada is a Japanese film and television actor. He was a regular cast member of Fuji TV's '' Operation Love'', appearing in all 11 episodes broadcast in 2007 and the 2008 special, and receiving an award for his role. He has made numerous other TV appe ...

- Tatsuo Osako (大迫辰雄 ''Ōsako Tetsuo'') * Wenanty Nosul – Jan Zwartendijk * Ken'ichi Takito - Ichiro Sekimitsu (関満一朗 ''Sekimitsu Ichirō'') * Satoshi Nikaido - Saburo Nei (根井三郎 ''Nei Saburō'')

Production

* Cellin Gluck – Director

Release

As a premiere in Poland, it was an opening film at the

Warsaw Jewish Film Festival The Warsaw Jewish Film Festival ( pl, Warszawski Festiwal Filmów o Tematyce Żydowskiej) is an annual Jewish film festival held in Warsaw, Poland. Organized in 2003 by American film director , it was the first one of this type on Poland, and one ...

The North American premiere was part of the 2016 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) with five screenings, one each at five of the festival venues. The first screening was 31 January 2016 at SCADshow.

Reception

The film grossed on its opening weekend in Japan.

References

External links

* * 2015 films 2010s Japanese-language films Japanese biographical drama films 2015 biographical drama films Holocaust films Films about refugees World War II films based on actual events Nippon TV films Films set in Lithuania Films shot in Poland Toho films Japanese historical drama films 2010s historical drama films Sugihara's Jews 2015 drama films 2010s Japanese films Films produced by Kazutoshi Wadakura Films about diplomats {{2010s-Japan-film-stub