Himizu (film)

Himizu

Film poster advertising this film in Japan
Directed by Sion Sono
Produced by Haruo Umekawa, Masashi Yamazaki
Written by Minoru Furuya
Sion Sono
Starring Shota Sometani, Fumi Nikaido
Cinematography Sohei Tanikawa
Distributed by Gaga Communications
Release date(s) September 5, 2011 (2011-09-05) (Venice)[1]
Running time 129 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese

Himizu (ヒミズ?) is 2011 Japanese drama film based on a manga of the same name by Minoru Furuya.[2] Himizu is directed by director Sion Sono, whose works includes films like Cold Fish (2010) and Guilty of Romance (2011). [2]

The film competed in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in September.[3] At the festival, Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaido received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor and Actress for their work in the film.[4]

Contents

Cast

Production

Development

The director Sion Sono had already written the film's script when the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami stuck Japan on March 11, 2011.[5] After this disaster, he decided to rewrite the script to adapt the film to this disaster.[5]

Casting

The lead stars of the film were officially announced on June 10, 2011.[6] The lead actor for the film is Shota Sometani, who plays the role of Sumida, a 14 year old teenager who suffers from the violence that his father inflicted onto him.[5] Actress Fumi Nikaido will be his co-star, and she will star as Chazawa, a rich girl who is Sumida's classmate.[6]

Additional cast members of the film was announced on 2 September 2011. These cast members were Yosuke Kubozuka, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Anne Suzuki and singer Takahiro Nishijima.[7] Actress Yoshitaka previously starred in the 2006 film Noriko's Dinner Table,[7] which was also directed by Sion Sono.[8] Nishijima is from the music group AAA,[7] and also previously starred in Sion Sono's 2009 award-winning film Love Exposure.[9]

Filming

Most of the filming for the film took place at a special set in Ibaraki Prefecture during May 2011.[6]

Reception

Critical Reception

Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film as being "fraught with brutal violence and needless repetition that draws out its two-hour running time" and added that the film "is still not an easy film to like".[5] However, the reviewer praised the ending of the film, which she describes as "achingly real" and "extraordinarily intense and effective".[5] She also praised the film's young leads Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaidou, whom she said "grow in stature as the film progresses". [5]

Accolades

Year Award Category Result Recipient
2011 68th Venice International Film Festival Marcello Mastroianni Award Won Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaidou[4]

References

  1. ^ "Venezia 68: Programme". Venice. http://www.labiennale.org/doc_files/programma-68c.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-28. 
  2. ^ a b "ヒミズ on eiga.com" (in Japanese). eiga.com. http://eiga.com/movie/56356/. Retrieved 2011-09-16. 
  3. ^ "Venezia 68: International competition of feature films". Venice. http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/lineup/off-sel/venezia68/. Retrieved 2011-08-28. 
  4. ^ a b "Official Awards of the 68th Venice Film Festival". Le Biennale di Venezia. http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/awards/. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Himizu: Venice Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/himizu-venice-film-review-231642. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
  6. ^ a b c "染谷将太＆二階堂ふみ、映画「ヒミズ」で園子温監督に挑む！" (in Japanese). eiga.com. 2011-06-10. http://eiga.com/news/20110610/1/. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
  7. ^ a b c "窪塚洋介＆鈴木杏、「ヒミズ」で園子温監督作に初出演" (in Japanese). eiga.com. 2011-09-02. http://eiga.com/news/20110902/3/. Retrieved 2011-09-16. 
  8. ^ "紀子の食卓 on eiga.com" (in Japanese). eiga.com. http://eiga.com/movie/33656/. Retrieved 2011-09-16. 
  9. ^ "愛のむきだし on eiga.com" (in Japanese). eiga.com. http://eiga.com/movie/53645/. Retrieved 2011-09-16. 

External links

Films directed by Sion Sono