Kokuhō
)
)
)
“Your beautiful face might consume you”
Overview
Based on the bestselling novel by Shūichi Yoshida, the Japanese box office smash Kokuhō stars Ryo Yoshizawa (Tokyo Revengers) and Ryusei Yokohama in a generational saga set against the turbulent times of the 1960s. In Nagasaki, gifted young performer Kikuo (Yoshizawa) is taken on as an apprentice by renowned Kabuki actor Hanjirō Hanai (Ken Watanabe, Tampopo, The Last Samurai). Despite his passion for the artform, Kikuo finds himself at odds with his friend and fellow actor Shunsuke (Yokohama), who is Hanjiro's only son and heir to the performer's lineage. A generational saga of rivalry and obsessive devotion to a craft, Kokuhō mirrors the tumult of a rapidly changing Japan.
“Propelled by operatic intensity and visual poetry”
“Sang-il’s commitment to capturing kabuki’s physicality...reminds us that greatness often comes from intense dedication as much as from the people around you”
“A sumptuous spectacle”
Why See This Film
With its mixture of high drama and sumptuous visuals, Kokuhō swept the awards at Hochi and Yokohama film festivals and has become the highest grossing Japanese live action film of all time. Especially resonant are the themes of sacrifice and ambition required to become a ningen kokuhō (living national treasure) and the nuances of class and gender, expressed in the orphaned Kikuo's popularity as an onnagata (male actor who plays female roles). Both Yoshizawa and Yokohama prepared exhaustively for the demanding lead roles, training in kabuki for 18 months under the Nakamura Ganjirō line of performers to do the art form justice, bolstered by a sterling performance from the great Ken Watanabe.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)