Suzaku (film)

Suzaku
Directed by Naomi Kawase
Produced by Takenori Sentō
Kōji Kobayashi
Yasushi Tsuge
Screenplay by Naomi Kawase
Starring Jun Kunimura
Machiko Ono
Music by Masamichi Shigeno
Cinematography Masaki Tamura
Edited by Shūichi Kakesu
Production
company
Release dates
1 November 1997
Running time
95 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese

Suzaku (Japanese: 萌の朱雀 Hepburn: Moe no Suzaku) is a Japanese fiction film from 1997 directed by Naomi Kawase.[1]

Plot

Set in the mountainous Nishiyoshino region of Nara Prefecture, the film sketches the dissolution of a family suffering from the economic decline of their village. A vital railroad project was to have been constructed, employing the father of the family, but it was cancelled.

Cast

Production

Suzaku was the 35mm film debut of Kawase, who was known for her independently produced films in 8mm.[2] A reference to her previous career can be seen in Suzaku through the 8mm film projected at the end. The only professional actor in the production was Jun Kunimura, although this became the debut of Machiko Ono, who later went on to a successful acting career.

Reception

Suzaku was selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and won the Caméra d'Or (best new film) at the Festival.[3] It also won the FIPRESCI Award at the 1997 International Film Festival Rotterdam.[4] Machiko Ono won the best actress award at the Singapore Film Festival for her role.[5]

Novelization

Kawase herself wrote a novelization of the film under the same title.[6]

References

  1. "Moe no suzaku". Japanese Cinema Database. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  2. McDonald, Keiko I. (2006). Reading a Japanese Film: Cinema in Context. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2939-1.
  3. "Awards 1997". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  4. "FIPRESCI Award". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  5. "'Kānēshon' no hiroin ni Ono Machiko-san ga kettei!". Kishiwada e yōkoso. Kishiwada City. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  6. "Moe no suzaku". WorldCat. Retrieved 7 December 2011.

External links

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