After the positive reception of the first “Samurai Wolf”, fans of the “Furious Wolf” did not have to wait long for the sequel, which was released just one year after the first feature, again starring Isao Natsuyagi as the titular hero and with Hideo Gosha as director. While the two movies about the wandering ronin may not be the director’s most commercially successful works at the time, perhaps due to the over-saturation of the market at that point in the 1960s, but there are most certainly in the same league as the “Zatoichi”-series or the tales of “Lone Wolf and Cub”. However, as with many sequels within the chanbara genre, Gosha not only built this new feature on the qualities of its predecessor, but also aimed to tell a new story including such themes as corruption, greed and betrayal, which is much more complex and contains some quite interesting characters.
- 12/23/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
In the history of Japanese cinema, the period drama, whether a chambara or jidaigeki, is a genre which many filmmakers want to explore for themselves at least once during their career, with many of them even building their bodies of work on just these types of features. While many cite directors such as Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi as being the most important examples, cinephiles and people familiar with Japanese culture know the genre is far more varied and has a lot more names to offer. One of those directors has to be Hideo Gosha, who already made a strong impression at the beginning of his career with two lasting masterpieces of the genre, “Three Outlaw Samurai” and “Sword of the Beast”. In the years to come, he would continue making strong entries within the samurai genre, such as his two “Samurai Wolf”-movies, both starring actor Isao Natsuyagi as a ronin named Kiba,...
- 12/20/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
“To be deceived is a woman’s crime.”
When you listen to the magnificent soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill, Vol.1” you will notice that one track called “The Flower of Carnage” sung by Meiko Kaji. Even though you might not understand the lyrics the voice of the singer, the bittersweet melody hints at the character being deeply emotional, full of tenderness, but at the same time carrying something with her, something dark and vicious. It seems to conjure a certain image, feeling or memory of a past and a present of a certain somebody who is addressed in this film, so strong is the voice it wants you to almost take a mental picture of the person, see her pain but also her beauty. To Tarantino this was the perfect sound for The Bride, a character played by Uma Thurman, a woman who has been continuously betrayed and declared dead,...
When you listen to the magnificent soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill, Vol.1” you will notice that one track called “The Flower of Carnage” sung by Meiko Kaji. Even though you might not understand the lyrics the voice of the singer, the bittersweet melody hints at the character being deeply emotional, full of tenderness, but at the same time carrying something with her, something dark and vicious. It seems to conjure a certain image, feeling or memory of a past and a present of a certain somebody who is addressed in this film, so strong is the voice it wants you to almost take a mental picture of the person, see her pain but also her beauty. To Tarantino this was the perfect sound for The Bride, a character played by Uma Thurman, a woman who has been continuously betrayed and declared dead,...
- 12/2/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
‘The Land of Hope’ is a simple and honest movie about fear, hope and freedom when the unexpected and unavoidable comes our way. In this case, a nuclear meltdown, no less. It’s not a singular tale, in that it’s not a survival-against-the-odds story, nor an especially ‘heroic’ one, but it is the kind of experience that any family could have had in a Fukushima-like aftermath.
The devastated Nagashima in ‘The Land of Hope’.
Sion doesn’t overreach for the unique, but rather keeps the focus on realism, indulging in magic lyrical moments only on a couple of occasions. The result is a fairly empathetic experience, even when the story wanders, visiting sub-themes such as peer-pressure or mistrust of the government.
Samuel Goldwyn said that a movie ‘should start with an earthquake and build to a climax’. Sion Sono, the director of ‘The Land of Hope’, obviously took notice,...
The devastated Nagashima in ‘The Land of Hope’.
Sion doesn’t overreach for the unique, but rather keeps the focus on realism, indulging in magic lyrical moments only on a couple of occasions. The result is a fairly empathetic experience, even when the story wanders, visiting sub-themes such as peer-pressure or mistrust of the government.
Samuel Goldwyn said that a movie ‘should start with an earthquake and build to a climax’. Sion Sono, the director of ‘The Land of Hope’, obviously took notice,...
- 9/18/2016
- by Miguel Angel Aijon
- AsianMoviePulse
Title: Like Father, Like Son Director: Hirokazu Koreeda Starring: Masaharu Fukuyama, Yoko Maki, Jun Kunimura, Machiko Ono, Kirin Kiki, Isao Natsuyagi, Lily Franky, Jun Fubuki, Megumi Morisaki. Director Hirokazu Koreeda depicts a touching, poetic and harrowing adventure through parenthood. What makes a child similar to his parents? Does the blood-line prevail over living every day of your life raising a child, even if he doesn’t share your lineage? These questions are explored with great delicacy and veracity in ‘Like Father, Like Son.’ Nonomiya Ryota is a man who has established himself in his profession, he is very hard working and extremely competitive. One day he is called with his wife [ Read More ]
The post Like Father, Like Son Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Like Father, Like Son Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 1/15/2014
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
★★★☆☆ The Land of Hope (2012) is a delicately-paced drama, centring on the lives of a rural farming family who are affected by a nearby environmental catastrophe, set a few years after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. Sion Sono intended to create a film that captured how a tragedy like this affects the everyday lives of people, and he does this with an air of haunting beauty. Sono tells the story of a family divided by the disaster, torn two ways in an attempt to save themselves. Yoichi (Jun Murakami) and his wife Izumi (Megumi Kagurazaka) face each and every day with the fear of radiation affecting their unborn child.
Kagurazaka is particularly adept at portraying the desperate lengths Izumi will go to in order to protect her child, illustrating her radiophobia with a sensitivity that could have easily been overdone, whilst Murakumi displays a desperate husband trying to do his best with earnest.
Kagurazaka is particularly adept at portraying the desperate lengths Izumi will go to in order to protect her child, illustrating her radiophobia with a sensitivity that could have easily been overdone, whilst Murakumi displays a desperate husband trying to do his best with earnest.
- 8/27/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
We always look forward to news of a new Sion Sono release, so colour us happy that Third Window Films has announced the arrival of The Land of Hope on U.K. shores. Prolific director Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Himizu) departs from his usual style for this movingly restrained drama of a rural family's struggle to survive in the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake and the resulting nuclear crisis. Starring Isao Natsuyagi (My Way) and Naoko Otani (Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters), special features include an entertaining 70 minute 'Making of' documentary. The Land of Hope arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray August 26th, 2013. We'll be reviewing it very shortly... Synopsis: In the fictional Nagashima prefecture, Yoichi Ono (Jun Murakami) lives a peaceful life with his wife Izumi (Megumi Kagurazaka), and his parents Yasuhiko (Isao Natsuyagi) and Chieko (Nakok Otani), on the family's small farm. One day, an earthquake disrupts the calm,...
- 8/21/2013
- 24framespersecond.net
Here’s the first trailer for “Hannibal Rising” director Peter Webber’s latest, the post-World War II set “Emperor”, which finds Matthew Fox and Tommy Lee Jones playing Generals in the aftermath of the war. This is apparently a true story. Or, well, true-ish whenever Hollywood is involved, let’s be honest here. Looks interesting. I’m always a sucker for historical tales about topics that I didn’t know anything about previously, and I certainly had no idea the U.S. Army was considering hanging Japan’s emperor for his role in WWII. As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Isao Natsuyagi, Matthew Fox, Kaori Momoi, Toshiyuki Nishida,...
- 1/18/2013
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
The Japan Syndrome: Sono Puts Human Face to Tsunami Tragedy
The prolific and insanely busy Sion Sono returns with another tale centered on the aftermath of Japan’s devastating tsunami, The Land of Hope. While his last film, Himizu focused on two teenagers eking out a dystopic existence in their post-tsunami world, this latest is based on a family’s true story of survival in the aftermath of the nuclear reactor explosion. At times a tad overly sentimental, especially in the context of Sono’s own dark and challenging oeuvre, this is a mostly winning experience, perhaps best as a document of the ravaged landscape that still has yet to be revitalized even a year later, when this was filmed.
Sono gives us a fictional location, the Nagashima prefecture, a small town butted up against a nuclear power plant. Yoichi Ono (Jun Murakami) and his wife Izumi (Megumi Kagurazaka) lead...
The prolific and insanely busy Sion Sono returns with another tale centered on the aftermath of Japan’s devastating tsunami, The Land of Hope. While his last film, Himizu focused on two teenagers eking out a dystopic existence in their post-tsunami world, this latest is based on a family’s true story of survival in the aftermath of the nuclear reactor explosion. At times a tad overly sentimental, especially in the context of Sono’s own dark and challenging oeuvre, this is a mostly winning experience, perhaps best as a document of the ravaged landscape that still has yet to be revitalized even a year later, when this was filmed.
Sono gives us a fictional location, the Nagashima prefecture, a small town butted up against a nuclear power plant. Yoichi Ono (Jun Murakami) and his wife Izumi (Megumi Kagurazaka) lead...
- 9/17/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
A 30-second teaser for Shion Sono’s upcoming film The Land of Hope has been uploaded to the official YouTube channel of its distributor, Bitters End.
It’s set in the Japanese countryside and revolves around a couple, Yoichi (Jun Murakami) and Izumi (Megumi Kagurazaka), who are living in a village as humble dairy farmers with Yoichi’s parents Yasuhiko (Isao Natsuyagi) and Chieko (Naoko Otani).
One day, a huge earthquake strikes and an evacuation begins, but Yoichi is hesitant to leave their lifetime home behind. When he discovers his wife is pregnant, he must do whatever it takes to protect her and their unborn child. Meanwhile, their neighbors (Yutaka Shimizu, Hikari Kajiwara, Denden, and Mariko Tsutsui). have to make their own choice about evacuation.
“The Land of Hope” is scheduled for an autumn release in Japan. A quick UK release is also likely due to Third Window Films being one of the co-producers.
It’s set in the Japanese countryside and revolves around a couple, Yoichi (Jun Murakami) and Izumi (Megumi Kagurazaka), who are living in a village as humble dairy farmers with Yoichi’s parents Yasuhiko (Isao Natsuyagi) and Chieko (Naoko Otani).
One day, a huge earthquake strikes and an evacuation begins, but Yoichi is hesitant to leave their lifetime home behind. When he discovers his wife is pregnant, he must do whatever it takes to protect her and their unborn child. Meanwhile, their neighbors (Yutaka Shimizu, Hikari Kajiwara, Denden, and Mariko Tsutsui). have to make their own choice about evacuation.
“The Land of Hope” is scheduled for an autumn release in Japan. A quick UK release is also likely due to Third Window Films being one of the co-producers.
- 5/11/2012
- Nippon Cinema
Last year, director Shion Sono chose to film his live-action adaptation of Himizu in an area devastated by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, incorporating the effects of disaster into the story. With his next film, The Land of Hope, he’s going a step further by making a human drama about a family living within the evacuation radius of a damaged nuclear power plant during the disaster.
It was previously known that the story would focus on three primary couples played by Isao Natsuyagi, Naoko Otani, Jun Murakami, Megumi Kagurazaka, Yutaka Shimizu, and Hikari Kajiwara—with Denden playing someone with important ties to the main family. Today it was revealed that Daikichi Sugawara, Takashi Yamanaka, and Kenzo Kawarazaki would also star.
Additionally, the film will boast a fairly large cast of established actors in smaller supporting roles including Yusuke Iseya, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Fusako Urabe, Gitan Ohtsuru, Satoshi Matsuo, Shiro Namiki,...
It was previously known that the story would focus on three primary couples played by Isao Natsuyagi, Naoko Otani, Jun Murakami, Megumi Kagurazaka, Yutaka Shimizu, and Hikari Kajiwara—with Denden playing someone with important ties to the main family. Today it was revealed that Daikichi Sugawara, Takashi Yamanaka, and Kenzo Kawarazaki would also star.
Additionally, the film will boast a fairly large cast of established actors in smaller supporting roles including Yusuke Iseya, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Fusako Urabe, Gitan Ohtsuru, Satoshi Matsuo, Shiro Namiki,...
- 4/4/2012
- Nippon Cinema
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