''Wood Job!'' is a 2014 Japanese

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Shinobu Yaguchi is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He specializes in feel-good "zero to hero" films, where a group of people take up an unlikely activity, face a number of obstacles, but finally succeed. His film ''Waterboys'' was particularly succe ...

and based on the novel by

Shion Miura is a Japanese writer. She has won the Naoki Prize, the Oda Sakunosuke Prize, and the Japan Booksellers' Award. Her work has been adapted for film and television, and her books have been translated into Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, E ...

. The film stars

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'', ...

Masami Nagasawa is a common Japanese given name and can be given to either sex. Possible writings *惟美, meaning "Considerate beauty" *真己, meaning "True self" or "Truth, Snake" *昌美, meaning "Prosperous beauty" *雅美, meaning "Gracious beauty" *� ...

, and

Hideaki Itō is a Japanese actor. Biography Ito is best known for starring in the hit franchise ''Umizaru'' film series which consistently topped the Japanese box office of the year. He has also head-lined many other major Japanese films such as Takashi M ...

. The main theme song is "Happiest Fool", sung by

Maia Hirasawa Maia Hirasawa (born May 5, 1980) is a Swedish singer-songwriter of Swedish and Japanese parentage. She was born and raised in Sollentuna, Stockholm, Sweden but has lived for many years in Gothenburg. Maia became known through Annika Norlin's ...

. The film was released on 10 May 2014, and made its North American premiere at LA Eigafest 2014.

Plot

The story revolves around Yuki Hirano (played by

), who, after failing his university entrance examinations and being left by his girlfriend, decides to join a forestry training program on seeing an attractive female face (Nagasawa) on a promotional leaflet. The program is difficult, and while he wants to quit, he continues. Many others from the program drop out. Initially being skeptical of the newcomer, the villagers grow to like him and accept him as one of their own. However, he soon discovers that the job is harder than he expected, working under the hard-working superior played by

. Yuki learns respect for the forest, and the traditions of the town, opening his eyes to life outside a big city. All the while, he pursues the woman from the pamphlet whose beauty motivated to move in the first place. The film ends with the

Onbashira Festival The are four wooden posts or pillars that stand on the four corners of local shrines in the Lake Suwa area of Nagano Prefecture (historical Shinano Province), Japan. The largest and most famous set of are those that stand on the four shrines ...

, a dangerous festival involving riding huge logs down a hill.

Cast

The following people appear in the film. *

as Yūki Hirano *

as Naoki Ishii *

as Yoki Iida * Yūka as Miki Iida *

Naomi Nishida is an actress. She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2001 Yokohama Film Festival and at the 25th Hochi Film Award for her performance in ''Nabbie's Love''. Personal life She married a Japanese shoe designer in 2005, and gave birth to ...

as Yūko Nakamura *

Sports Makita Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...

as Iwao Tanabe *

Masashi Arifuku Masashi is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese skier *, Japanese actor *, Japanese animator and character designer *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese basketball player *, ...

as Saburō Koyama *

Yoshimasa Kondo , born on August 13, 1961 in Nagoya, Japan, is a Japanese theatre and film actor. Biography He debuted as an extra in the series ''Chu-gaku-sei Nikki'', and was later written into the script. He later gained notability while working with the ...

as a senior executive director of forestry association *

Ken Mitsuishi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Chaos'' and '' Tokyo Playboy Club''. Filmography Film ;1980s *'' Tora's Tropical Fever'' (1980) *'' Foster Daddy, Tora!'' (1980) *'' Sailor Suit and Machine Gun'' (1981) *''Tora-san, the Ex ...

as Seiichi Nakamura *

Akira Emoto is a Japanese actor. Career In 1999, he won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Dr. Akagi''. He also won the award for best supporting actor at the 7th Hochi Film Award for ''Dotonbori River'' and '' Hearts and Flo ...

as Toshirō Yamane *

Yuki Furukawa is a Japanese actor, supermodel, guitarist and break dancer. He gained popularity as Naoki Irie in the 2013 television series '' Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo'' and its sequel, ''Mischievous Kiss 2: Love in Okinawa''. Personal life Furukawa wa ...

Production

The film was shot on location in the mountains of

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...

, taking approximately six weeks and completed by 31 July 2013.

Reception

The film has grossed ¥107 million in Japan.

References

External links

* * {{Shinobu Yaguchi 2014 comedy-drama films 2014 films Films based on Japanese novels Films directed by Shinobu Yaguchi Japanese comedy-drama films Toho films 2014 comedy films 2010s Japanese films