Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So, we’re going to do the hard work for you.
We enter 2024 by heading to Japan, where we have spotlighted the annual taiga drama, Nhk’s all-year-round historical series that has been a mainstay on Japanese screens for more than six decades. What Will You Do, Ieyasu? has just wrapped and the next is preparing to air. While the taiga drama has a distinctly Japanese feel, there is no reason why it cannot travel way beyond the nation’s shores and expose the world to this traditional but unknown format.
Name: What Will You Do,...
We enter 2024 by heading to Japan, where we have spotlighted the annual taiga drama, Nhk’s all-year-round historical series that has been a mainstay on Japanese screens for more than six decades. What Will You Do, Ieyasu? has just wrapped and the next is preparing to air. While the taiga drama has a distinctly Japanese feel, there is no reason why it cannot travel way beyond the nation’s shores and expose the world to this traditional but unknown format.
Name: What Will You Do,...
- 1/9/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Opening this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival is Takahisa Zeze’s war drama Fragments of the Last Will, a tragic but hopeful story from a little-known chapter of Russo-Japanese history.
Based on the true story of Hatao Yamamoto (Kazunari Ninomiya), one of more than half a million Japanese soldiers taken to the Soviet Union after World War Two, the film tells of his battle to keep hope alive and keep his promise to his wife (Keiko Kitagawa) waiting for his return.
Taken to labor camps after surrendering to the Soviet Army in China, the soldiers, and some civilians, were put to work for years in Siberia and across Stalin’s empire in contravention of multiple international treaties and conventions. Some were not allowed to return home for more than a decade. Estimates of the number who died range from the tens to...
Opening this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival is Takahisa Zeze’s war drama Fragments of the Last Will, a tragic but hopeful story from a little-known chapter of Russo-Japanese history.
Based on the true story of Hatao Yamamoto (Kazunari Ninomiya), one of more than half a million Japanese soldiers taken to the Soviet Union after World War Two, the film tells of his battle to keep hope alive and keep his promise to his wife (Keiko Kitagawa) waiting for his return.
Taken to labor camps after surrendering to the Soviet Army in China, the soldiers, and some civilians, were put to work for years in Siberia and across Stalin’s empire in contravention of multiple international treaties and conventions. Some were not allowed to return home for more than a decade. Estimates of the number who died range from the tens to...
- 10/26/2022
- by Gavin J Blair
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 35th edition of the festival is set to take place in-person from October 2 to November 2.
Takahisa Zeze’s Japanese prisoner of war drama Fragments Of The Last Will is set to world premiere as the opening film of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs October 24 to November 2.
The festival will close with Oliver Hermanus’s UK drama Living, starring Bill Nighy, an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 Japanese drama Ikiru with a revised screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro, whose credits include Remains Of The Day and Never Let Me Go.
Fragments Of The Last Will is based on the true story of Hatao Yamamoto,...
Takahisa Zeze’s Japanese prisoner of war drama Fragments Of The Last Will is set to world premiere as the opening film of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs October 24 to November 2.
The festival will close with Oliver Hermanus’s UK drama Living, starring Bill Nighy, an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 Japanese drama Ikiru with a revised screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro, whose credits include Remains Of The Day and Never Let Me Go.
Fragments Of The Last Will is based on the true story of Hatao Yamamoto,...
- 9/12/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Yoji Yamada’s 92nd film, which is based on the novel “Kinema no Kamisama” by popular multiple prize-winning novelist Maha Harada, inspired by her own family and experiences, is also a commemoration of Shochiku Films’ centennial, and particularly its trademark style, ‘Bright and Cheerful Shochiku Cinema’
“It’s a Flickering Life” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Goh is an elderly man who has always had problems with gambling, forcing his wife Yoshiko and daughter, Ayumu, to bail him out a number of times, despite the fact that he had repeatedly promised not to do it again. This time, however, neither his daughter nor his wife are willing to help once more, with the latter taking over all his financial matters on her hands, and sending him back to deal with his second big passion, cinema. Goh now has to go back to his old friend and associate from...
“It’s a Flickering Life” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Goh is an elderly man who has always had problems with gambling, forcing his wife Yoshiko and daughter, Ayumu, to bail him out a number of times, despite the fact that he had repeatedly promised not to do it again. This time, however, neither his daughter nor his wife are willing to help once more, with the latter taking over all his financial matters on her hands, and sending him back to deal with his second big passion, cinema. Goh now has to go back to his old friend and associate from...
- 6/17/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Dealing with themes of sexual/domestic abuse in mainstream (Japanese) cinema is not exactly the easiest thing to do. Yukihiko Tsutsumi, however, who shot “12 Suicidal Teens” back in 2019, seems like the man to do the job, in adapting Rio Shimamoto’s Naoki Prize novel. Let us see how he fared.
“First Love” is screening as part of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
The protagonist of the story is Yuki Makabe, a psychologist who believes that the main blame for the violent behaviour of any children lies with their parents. Yuki lives a nice enough life, being respected in her field and married to photographer Gamon, who is set on taking care of her, essentially being in charge of all house chores due to his wife’s rather busy schedule. At one point, Yuki becomes fascinated by the case of Kanna Hijiriyama, a college student who has been arrested for...
“First Love” is screening as part of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
The protagonist of the story is Yuki Makabe, a psychologist who believes that the main blame for the violent behaviour of any children lies with their parents. Yuki lives a nice enough life, being respected in her field and married to photographer Gamon, who is set on taking care of her, essentially being in charge of all house chores due to his wife’s rather busy schedule. At one point, Yuki becomes fascinated by the case of Kanna Hijiriyama, a college student who has been arrested for...
- 2/20/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Toru Hosokawa’s fourth feature “The Hikita’s Are Expectig!” also known as “Mr. Hikita, I am Knocked Up!” is a strange customer. As we follow the day-to-day life of an allegedly happily married couple – a 49 year-old writer Kunio Hikita (Yutaka Matsushige) and his almost two decades younger wife Sachi-chan, at first all the wrong questions start materializing: why would anyone that young and sweet tolerate a constantly drunk, emotionally buttoned up man, or why is an uneven marital game presented as a blissful relationship. The skepticism gets replaced by a raised eyebrow and a sudden realization that the script co-penned by Kunio Hikita and the director himself wasn’t meant to paint the picture of a classical union between two people that have to fight not only against our own prejudice as the audience, but also against those coming from their cultural heritage and the immediate environment.
“The Hikita’s Are Expecting!
“The Hikita’s Are Expecting!
- 6/18/2020
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
The first trailer for the ninth “Fast & Furious” movie, dubbed “F9: The Fast Saga,” was full of big surprises. Yeah we’ve got those completely insane action sequences, but we’re here for the plot. And this trailer contained two major twists: that John Cena is, somehow, playing Dominic Toretto’s evil brother, and that Han (Sung Kang) actually did not die in that car crash in Tokyo. Those reveals are so big it can be easy to miss the brief shot of two major characters from “Tokyo Drift” making their returns to the franchise.
“F9” is big for “Fast” fans not just because it’s another crazy looking movie in this wonderful franchise — it also marks the return of director Justin Lin, who was behind the lens on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth movies, to the franchise. And it looks like “F9” is about halfway to...
“F9” is big for “Fast” fans not just because it’s another crazy looking movie in this wonderful franchise — it also marks the return of director Justin Lin, who was behind the lens on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth movies, to the franchise. And it looks like “F9” is about halfway to...
- 2/1/2020
- by Phil Owen
- The Wrap
The friendship between two damaged young women takes a turn for the murderous in Japanese suspenser “Roommate”, written and directed by Furuzawa Takeshi, who previously dabbled in horror with the likes of “Ghost Train” and “Another”. Adapted from a popular 1997 novel by Imamura Aya, the film was a high profile release thanks to the presence of two of the country’s current favourite actresses, Keiko Kitagawa, (recently in “Judge!”, and who went Hollywood with “Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift”) and Kyoko Fukada (“Kamikaze Girls” and “Yatterman”). The film opens with Keiko Kitagawa as Harumi, a young woman working as a temp, who gets hit by a car and wakes up in hospital, where she’s taken care of by a kind nurse called Reiko (Kyoko Fukada). The two become friends, and decide to move in together once Harumi is discharged, which works out pretty well until Reiko starts talking to herself and acting strangely,...
- 6/27/2014
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Plot72% Acting70% Directing65%Interesting story with some fun elementsHas a lot more potentialHiroshi Abe is a bit on automatic pilot mode 69%Overall Score Reader Rating: (1 Vote)55%
Elevator to the gallows, original title Shikeidai no erebêtâ, is a remake of the noirish French film Ascenseur pour l’échafaud from 1958. As with most remakes, it is almost inevitable to compare it with the original film. The original is a pretty well known classic from 3-time Oscar nominated director Louis Malle. 52 years later, it was up to Japanese director Akira Ogata to take on the assignment to direct this Japanese remake.
Hiroshi Abe is Takahiko Tokito, a doctor at a big medical corporation. He has decided to run away with his lover, Meiko (played by Michiko Kichise), the wife of the president of his company. But before he is able to leave the country with Meiko, she has one request: he has to...
Elevator to the gallows, original title Shikeidai no erebêtâ, is a remake of the noirish French film Ascenseur pour l’échafaud from 1958. As with most remakes, it is almost inevitable to compare it with the original film. The original is a pretty well known classic from 3-time Oscar nominated director Louis Malle. 52 years later, it was up to Japanese director Akira Ogata to take on the assignment to direct this Japanese remake.
Hiroshi Abe is Takahiko Tokito, a doctor at a big medical corporation. He has decided to run away with his lover, Meiko (played by Michiko Kichise), the wife of the president of his company. But before he is able to leave the country with Meiko, she has one request: he has to...
- 11/24/2013
- by Thor
- AsianMoviePulse
On Monday it was announced that Sho Sakurai and Keiko Kitagawa will be starring in a movie version of Fuji TV’s Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de, a 10-episode TV drama which aired from October-December last year.
Based on a best-selling novel by Tokuya Higashigawa, the drama starred Kitagawa as an ultra rich heiress named Reiko Hosho who hid her status to work as a rookie police officer by day. Sakurai played her perfectionist butler Kageyama who offered helpful advice delivered with his own unique brand of brutal honesty.
The movie version will be largely the same, just on a larger scale. Shooting will take place mostly aboard the “SuperStar Virgo”, the largest luxury liner in Asia.
In the movie, Reiko boards her family’s luxury cruise ship, the “Princess Reiko”, along with Kageyama and embarks on a vacation to Singapore. While on-board, a murder occurs and the two...
Based on a best-selling novel by Tokuya Higashigawa, the drama starred Kitagawa as an ultra rich heiress named Reiko Hosho who hid her status to work as a rookie police officer by day. Sakurai played her perfectionist butler Kageyama who offered helpful advice delivered with his own unique brand of brutal honesty.
The movie version will be largely the same, just on a larger scale. Shooting will take place mostly aboard the “SuperStar Virgo”, the largest luxury liner in Asia.
In the movie, Reiko boards her family’s luxury cruise ship, the “Princess Reiko”, along with Kageyama and embarks on a vacation to Singapore. While on-board, a murder occurs and the two...
- 6/4/2012
- Nippon Cinema
I’m pretty sure this one will play very well to the experimental drug crowd. Hell, I think I got a mild contact buzz just from watching the trailer. Based on a series of popular children’s books in Japan, “Magic Tree House” follows the adventures of two siblings who discover a tree house that allows them to travel through time. Shenanigans are expected to ensue. Keiko Kitagawa stars as Jack, while Mana Ashida will voice Annie, his kid sister. The clip we spoke about earlier lies below. “Magic Tree House” opens in Japan on January 7th,...
- 12/9/2011
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
A few days ago, Eiga.com posted a new trailer for Takehiko Shinjo’s Paradise Kiss, a live-action film adaptation of a manga by Ai Yazawa.
Plot: Yukari Hayasaka (Keiko Kitagawa) commutes to a prestigious private high school in Tokyo every day, but recently she’s been having doubts about her lifestyle which has her constantly bouncing back and forth between her normal classes and cram school as per her parents’ wishes. One day, she’s scouted as a model for an aspiring fashion designer named George Koizumi (Osamu Mukai). Yukari is puzzled by the fashion world at first, but witnessing people chase their dreams with a single-minded focus eventually inspires her to find her own path.
Warner Bros will be releasing “Paradise Kiss” in Japan on June 4, 2011.
Watch »...
Plot: Yukari Hayasaka (Keiko Kitagawa) commutes to a prestigious private high school in Tokyo every day, but recently she’s been having doubts about her lifestyle which has her constantly bouncing back and forth between her normal classes and cram school as per her parents’ wishes. One day, she’s scouted as a model for an aspiring fashion designer named George Koizumi (Osamu Mukai). Yukari is puzzled by the fashion world at first, but witnessing people chase their dreams with a single-minded focus eventually inspires her to find her own path.
Warner Bros will be releasing “Paradise Kiss” in Japan on June 4, 2011.
Watch »...
- 4/4/2011
- Nippon Cinema
The Japanese film site Movie Collection has uploaded the first teaser for Takehiko Shinjo’s Paradise Kiss to their YouTube channel. The film is a live-action adaptation of a manga by Ai Yazawa.
Plot: Yukari Hayasaka (Keiko Kitagawa) commutes to a prestigious private high school in Tokyo every day, but recently she’s been having doubts about her lifestyle which has her constantly bouncing back and forth between her normal classes and cram school as per her parents’ wishes. One day, she’s scouted as a model for an aspiring fashion designer named George Koizumi (Osamu Mukai). Yukari is puzzled by the fashion world at first, but witnessing people chase their dreams with a single-minded focus eventually inspires her to find her own path.
Warner Bros will be releasing “Paradise Kiss” in Japan sometime in May 2011.
Plot: Yukari Hayasaka (Keiko Kitagawa) commutes to a prestigious private high school in Tokyo every day, but recently she’s been having doubts about her lifestyle which has her constantly bouncing back and forth between her normal classes and cram school as per her parents’ wishes. One day, she’s scouted as a model for an aspiring fashion designer named George Koizumi (Osamu Mukai). Yukari is puzzled by the fashion world at first, but witnessing people chase their dreams with a single-minded focus eventually inspires her to find her own path.
Warner Bros will be releasing “Paradise Kiss” in Japan sometime in May 2011.
- 11/3/2010
- Nippon Cinema
On Tuesday, Keiko Kitagawa revealed on her blog that she’s done filming Paradise Kiss, the much-anticipated live-action adaptation of Ai Yazawa’s manga of the same name.
Kitagawa thanked everyone involved in the shoot, while adding that her next stop will be the hair salon where she can finally get her hair cut. The shoot had been going on for three months, a fairly long haul for modern Japanese films, so she hasn’t been able to make any changes to her appearance until now.
In addition to Paradise Kiss, Kitagawa also had major roles in “Shikeidai no Elevator” and “Matataki” earlier this year. Combine that with her commercial work and numerous fashion magazine shoots, and she’s barely had any time to rest. And although she’s admitted in recent blog entries that her schedule has been pretty grueling lately, she doesn’t plan on taking a break anytime soon.
Kitagawa thanked everyone involved in the shoot, while adding that her next stop will be the hair salon where she can finally get her hair cut. The shoot had been going on for three months, a fairly long haul for modern Japanese films, so she hasn’t been able to make any changes to her appearance until now.
In addition to Paradise Kiss, Kitagawa also had major roles in “Shikeidai no Elevator” and “Matataki” earlier this year. Combine that with her commercial work and numerous fashion magazine shoots, and she’s barely had any time to rest. And although she’s admitted in recent blog entries that her schedule has been pretty grueling lately, she doesn’t plan on taking a break anytime soon.
- 10/27/2010
- Nippon Cinema
A trailer has been released for Itsumichi Isomura‘s Matataki, the latest film from the in-house production and distribution company of the utterly stacked talent agency Stardust Promotion.
Based on a novel by Len Kawahara, the film stars Keiko Kitagawa as Izumi, a young woman who’s blissfully in love with her art student boyfriend, Junichi (Masaki Okada). One day while returning from a trip to view the cherry blossoms, their bike collides with a truck inside a tunnel, with only Izumi surviving the accident. However, the incident is so traumatizing to Izumi that the memory of it has been completely blocked out of her mind. Overcome with sorrow and wondering why she was the only one to survive, Izumi seizes the chance to piece it all together with the help of a lawyer named Makiko (Nene Otsuka). Despite her fear, Izumi is determined to unlock the memory of her final moments with Junichi.
Based on a novel by Len Kawahara, the film stars Keiko Kitagawa as Izumi, a young woman who’s blissfully in love with her art student boyfriend, Junichi (Masaki Okada). One day while returning from a trip to view the cherry blossoms, their bike collides with a truck inside a tunnel, with only Izumi surviving the accident. However, the incident is so traumatizing to Izumi that the memory of it has been completely blocked out of her mind. Overcome with sorrow and wondering why she was the only one to survive, Izumi seizes the chance to piece it all together with the help of a lawyer named Makiko (Nene Otsuka). Despite her fear, Izumi is determined to unlock the memory of her final moments with Junichi.
- 3/18/2010
- Nippon Cinema
Nippon Cinemas Kevin has found some (first?) just beautiful stills from Kenji Nakanishi’s Hana no Ato (After the Flowers). The film currently in post-production is based on a short story by Shuhei Fujisawa (The Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade, Love and Honor). Starring Keiko Kitagawa, Hana no Ato will open in Japanese theaters in Spring 2010.
Visit Nippon Cinema for the rest of the bunch…
[via @nipponcinema & AsianMediaWiki]...
Visit Nippon Cinema for the rest of the bunch…
[via @nipponcinema & AsianMediaWiki]...
- 9/22/2009
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
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