is a 2005 Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, based on the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

'' Sunset on Third Street'' by Ryōhei Saigan. It was chosen as Picture of the Year at the Japan Academy Film Prize in 2006. The film spawned two

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

s, '' Always: Sunset on Third Street 2'' (2007) and '' Always: Sunset on Third Street '64'' (2012).

Plot

In 1958, with the impending completion of Tokyo's TV broadcasting tower as a symbol of Japan's escalating post-war economic recovery, rural schoolgirl Mutsuko (Maki Horikita) arrives from the provinces to begin her first job with Suzuki Auto. Initially impressed by meeting company "president" Norifumi Suzuki (Shinichi Tsutsumi), Mutsuko is shocked to discover her workplace is actually a shabby auto repair shop in Tokyo's down-at-heel Yuhi district. Suzuki is a bad-tempered employer but Mutsuko is welcomed by his wife, Tomoe (Hiroko Yakushimaru), and their impish 5-year-old son, Ippei (Kazuki Koshimizu). One of Ippei's favorite haunts is a five-and-dime store managed by struggling serial writer Ryunosuke Chagawa (Hidetaka Yoshioka). Regarding now-successful writers like Nobel-prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, as overrated, Chagawa wants to be more than a hack churning out sci-fi yarns and selling cheap toys on the side. When alluring newcomer Hiromi (Koyuki) opens a sake bar in the area, she gathers clientele quickly—in dramatically compressed manga style—but also finds herself lumbered with Junnosuke (Kenta Suga) the orphaned offspring of the bar's previous tenant. Drunk, and smitten by Hiromi, Chagawa accepts custodianship of the boy.

Reception

The film ranked 15th at the Japanese box office in 2005, and won 12 prizes at the 2006 Japanese Academy Awards, including the awards for Best Film, Director, Actor and Screenplay. It also won the audience award at the 2006 New York Asian Film Festival. It has been said that the film caused a Shōwa nostalgia boom.「良き時代への懐古」が意味するもの――『昭和ノスタルジアとは何か』
好書好日. 7/1/2021.

Cast

* Maki Horikita as Mutsuko Hoshino, the apprentice * Hidetaka Yoshioka as Ryunosuke Chagawa, the writer * Shinichi Tsutsumi as Norifumi Suzuki, the mechanic * Koyuki as Hiromi Ishizaki, sake bar owner * Hiroko Yakushimaru as Tomoe Suzuki, the mechanic's wife * Kazuki Koshimizu as Ippei Suzuki, the mechanic's son * Kenta Suga as Junnosuke Furuyuki, the abandoned boy

References

External links

* * * * {{Hochi Film Award for Best Film 2005 drama films 2005 films Films directed by Takashi Yamazaki Films produced by Shūji Abe Films scored by Naoki Satō Films set in Tokyo Japanese drama films 2000s Japanese-language films Live-action films based on manga Picture of the Year Japan Academy Prize winners Sunset on Third Street Toho films 2000s Japanese films