Horizons - Awarded Films 2002 / Go / Japan 2001
A young Korean named Sugihara is an eternal rebel whose father – a former professional boxer – put him through the school of hard knocks. In an environment of mixed ethnicities he seeks answers to questions of place and identity, especially after falling in love with the attractive Japanese girl Sakurai, whose parents raised her to believe that Koreans and Chinese were inferior. FIPRESCI Award at the Palm Springs IFF 2001.
Sugihara has a decidedly difficult life. He was born in Japan to Korean parents and attended a special school for Korean immigrants there. He suffers from a permanent identity crisis, constantly asking who he is and where he belongs. Even when he is accepted to a Japanese secondary school he still has serious doubts. But he stands out in a positive way thanks to his athletic ability and thus becomes a popular student. He owes his sporting talent to the tough training he got from his father, a former professional boxer. His internal doubts, however, rise back to the surface when he falls in love with a Japanese girl he meets at a party. She doesn’t demur at his first clumsy attempts to attract her and even returns his attentions. But he’s terrified of what she might say about his Korean origins. He’s afraid, rightly or wrongly, that such information might abruptly end their still fragile relationship. Then one night everything changes when an old friend calls Sugihara. The call has unexpected consequences for the vulnerable young man…. FIPRESCI Award at the Palm Springs IFF 2OOl.
122 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Isao Yukisada
/ Screenplay Kankuro Kudo podle románu Kazuki Kaneshira / based on the novel by Kazuki Kaneshiro
/ Dir. of Photography Katsumi Yanagijima
/ Music Meyna Co.
/ Editor Tsuyoshi Imai
/ Producer Masao Sato, Mitsuru Kurosawa
/ Production Toei Company Ltd.
/ Cast Yosuke Kubozuka, Kou Shibasaki, Tsutomu Yamazaki
Isao Yukisada (b. 1968) first worked as an assistant director on the films Shunji Iwai Love Letter and Swallowtail Butterfly. His directorial debut bears the title Open House, and his second film, Sunflower, garnered the International Film Critics’ Prize at the 5th Pusan IFF. He is one of the most talented directors of the younger Japanese generation.
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