Sasame-yuki (1983)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Kon Ichikawa

Writers:

Shinya Hidaka (writer)
Kon Ichikawa (writer)

Release Date:

30 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Japanese | Family Relationships | Based On Novel

Awards:

6 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Keiko Kishi	...	Tsuruko Makioka
Yoshiko Sakuma	...	Sachiko Makioka
Sayuri Yoshinaga	...	Yukiko Makioka
Yûko Kotegawa	...	Taeko Makioka
Juzo Itami	...	Tatsuo, Tsuruko's husband
Koji Ishizaka	...	Teinosuke, Sachiko's husband
Toshiyuki Hosokawa	...	Hashidera
Ittoku Kishibe	...	Itakura
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Takenori Emoto	...	Higashiya
Jun Hamamura	...	Otokichi
Jun Hashizume	...	Soldier
Akiji Kobayashi	...	Seitaro Jinba
Kazuya Kosaka	...	Nomura
Kuniko Miyake	...	Tominaga's aunt
Akemi Negishi	...	Mrs. Shimozuma
Miki Sanjo	...	Ohisa
Nobuko Sendo	...	Hashidera's daughter
Taeko Shinbashi	...	Mrs. Jinba
Kayoko Shiraishi	...	Restaurant owner
Kazunaga Tsuji	...	Miyoshi
Fujio Tsuneta	...	Igarashi
Yukari Uehara	...	Oharu
Michino Yokoyama	...	Itani (as Michiyo Yokoyama)
Takao Zushi	...	Otokichi's son

Also Known As:

Fine Snow (literal English title)
Hosone yuki
The Makioka Sisters (USA)

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Toho Eizo Co.

Movie Connections:

Version of Sasameyuki (1959)

A Wonderful Film for Japanophiles

I give this film 10 out of 10 as even after seeing it more than 10 times it still moves me deeply. I was 15 years old when I first saw this movie in the theater in Seattle. I went back to see it again a couple of weeks later. The first 13 minutes during the credits is my favorite scene, filmed in Kyoto in Springtime. Read the book for more background. The Kimono worn by the female actresses are amazing. The late Juzo Itami plays the father. All the dialog is spoken in "Osaka-ben" or Osaka dialect, which has a softer sound than Tokyo dialect. You can also hear some Kyoto-ben too ("gomen-yasu" said by a servant upon entering in the first scene before entering the room). This film brings me to tears it is so beautiful. At the end of the first scene, when the camera pans out to the cherry blossoms outside and the music starts...it is cinematic heaven! I am waiting for this film to come out on DVD.