Whiteout (2000 film)

Whiteout
Directed by Setsurou Wakamatsu
Written by Yasuo Hasegawa
Starring Yuji Oda, Nanako Matsushima
Music by Ken Ishii
Cinematography Hideo Yamamoto
Edited by Yoshifumi Fukazawa
Running time
129 Min.
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Box office ¥4,200,000,000 ($52,876,740)[1]

Whiteout (ホワイトアウト Howaitoauto) is a 2000 Japanese film about a one-man fight against a terrorist attack at a dam in Japan, starring Yuji Oda (織田裕二) and Nanako Matsushima (松嶋菜々子). It is a Die Hard-style movie made in Japan.

Plot

It was an ordinary rescue mission for dam controller Togashi Teruo (Yuji Oda) and his colleague Yoshioka Kazushi as they set out to assist a few climbers who met an unexpected blizzard near the Okutowa Dam. Unfortunately, Yoshioka was injured while helping the others and Togashi had no choice but to seek help alone. Things got worst when WHITEOUT - a meteorological phenomenon appeared and Togashi lost his best friend forever.

Meanwhile, with the most advanced technology, Utsuki Hirotaka (Koichi Sato) and his group of terrorists blow up the only main road to Okutowa Dam, the largest dam in Japan. They take over the dam along with the workers as hostages. They demanded JPY$5 billion from the government with a 24 hours deadline. To let the government know that they meant business, they decided to kill the hostages one by one unless they hear a definite answer from the highest government official. Among the hostage is Hirakawa Chiaki (Nanako Matsushima), Yoshioka’s fiancée whom Togashi promised his best friend to take good care of if anything bad should happen to him.

To make things more complicated, there was a snowstorm and no one can get in or out from the dam. Either the government pays the ransom or the dam will blow up along with the 200,000 residents living close to it. Fortunately, Togashi was not captured by the terrorists and he is now on his own to fight the well-equipped terrorists and to rescue both Hirakawa and the Okutowa Dam alone.

Awards and Nominations

2001 Awards of the Japanese Academy[2]

2001 Blue Ribbon Awards

Hochi Film Awards

2001 Mainichi Film Award

2001 Nikkan Sports Film Award

External links

References