is a 2019 Japanese

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...

film directed by Shigemichi Sugita and starring

Tatsuya Nakadai is a Japanese film actor. He was featured in 11 films directed by Masaki Kobayashi, including '' The Human Condition'' trilogy, wherein he starred as the lead character Kaji, plus '' Harakiri'', '' Samurai Rebellion'' and '' Kwaidan''. Nakada ...

Premise

The film is set during the Edo period, the first half of the 19th century. The lead character, an old gambler who has fallen ill, returns to his hometown after 30 years of traveling and sets out to help a young woman in dire straits.

Cast

as Unokichi, the gambler **

Kazuki Kitamura is a Japanese film and television actor who won the award for best supporting actor at the 21st Yokohama Film Festival for ''Minazuki (film), Minazuki'', ''Kyohansha'' and ''Kanzen-naru shiiku'' as well as the CUT ABOVE Award for Excellence in Fi ...

as younger Unokichi (in flashbacks) * Takako Tokiwa as Okuni, the young woman *

Atsuo Nakamura is a Japanese actor and politician. He has appeared in more than 50 films since 1964. His younger brother Katsuyuki Nakamura is a writer. Career Nakamura first joined the Haiyuza theatre troupe in 1962, and became famous for his starring role i ...

as Boss Kyuzo, who became the yakuza leader in Unokichi's hometown * Jiro Sato as Eiji * Naoto Ogata as Okuni's husband Genta *

Isao Hashizume is a Japanese actor. He also worked as a narrator for documentaries, both on television and film. He trained as an actor at Bungakuza is a Japanese theatre company. Along with the Mingei Theatre Company and the Haiyuza Theatre Company it ...

as Saichi * Ayumi Tanida as Asakichi *

Aki Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She has an older sister named Ai Maeda. She is perhaps best known in the west for her role as Noriko Nakagawa in the controversial 2000 film '' Battle Royale'', which she reprised for its sequel '' Battle ...

as Oaki (in flashbacks) * Misato Tanaka as Otoshi (in flashbacks) *

Yoshiko Mita (born October 8, 1941) is a Japanese actress. Born in the city of Osaka, she graduated from Joshibi High School of Art and Design in Suginami, Tokyo. In 1960, she was hired by Toei and made her acting debut. She remained with Toei until 1967, t ...

as Okou (in flashbacks)

Background and production

The film was based on a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by Shuhei Fujisawa with the same name. It was the first 8K historical drama ever produced by the Jidaigeki Senmon Channel. It was directed by Shigemichi Sugita.

Release

The film premiered worldwide at MIPCOM in Cannes on 15 October 2019. It debuted in Japan at the 32nd

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...

on 4 November 2019 and was released in theaters in January 2020. A year later, in January 2021, it was aired in 8K resolution on the

NHK BS8K NHK BS8K is a satellite television broadcasting service offered by NHK. Launched on 1 December 2018, it is the world's first television channel to broadcast in 8K resolution. Background NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories had start ...

channel. The film was released on DVD in Japan; a version with English subtitles is also available. A Hindi-dubbed version was released as a 3-part miniseries on the video streaming service MX Player (now Amazon MX Player).https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/entertainment/mx-player-has-announced-multiple-international-shows-that-will-premiere-in-july-521775/

References

External links

* 2019 films 2019 drama films Japanese drama films 2010s Japanese films Jidaigeki films Films set in the Edo period {{2010s-Japan-film-stub