Gohatto (1999)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Nagisa Oshima

Writers:

Nagisa Oshima (writer)
Ryotaro Shiba (novellas "Maegami No Sozaburo" and "Sanjogawara Ranjin from Shinsengumi Keppuroku")

Release Date:

18 December 1999 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting...

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Japan | Homosexuality | Gay | Androgyny

Awards:

10 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Takeshi Kitano	...	Captain Toshizo Hijikata (as 'Beat' Takeshi)
Ryuhei Matsuda	...	Samurai Sozaburo Kano
Shinji Takeda	...	Lieutenant Soji Okita
Tadanobu Asano	...	Samurai Hyozo Tashiro
Koji Matoba	...	Samurai Heibei Sugano
Masa Tommies	...	Inspector Jo Yamazaki
Masatô Ibu	...	Officer Koshitaro Ito
Uno Kanda	...	The Geisha Nishikigi-Dayû
Kazuko Yoshiyuki	...	The Servant Omatsu
Tomorowo Taguchi	...	Samurai Tojiro Yuzawa
Yoichi Sai	...	Commander Isami Kondo
Jiro Sakagami	...	Lieutenant Genzaburo Inoue
Zakoba Katsura	...	Wachigaiya
Kei Sato	...	The Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chikako Aoyama
Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Daisuke Iijima
Yoichi Iijima
Yoshiaki Inagaki
Yôzaburô Itô
Iwawo
Toujirô Kinoshita
Seiji Kurasaki
Emiko Michii
Kumotarô Mukai
Takuya Muramatsu
Mami Nakamura
Hirofumi Nakase
Yô Obara
Takashi Odashima
Kazuhiko Okuno
Yoshiyuki Omori
Usaburô Ôshima
Tôru Ôtomo
Kasumi Sawanoi
Shun Sugata
Shougo Tajika
Sanji Takei
Yoji Tanaka	...	Samurai executed by Kanô
Susumu Terajima	...	spy of Shinsen-gumi
Sayami Toda
Makoto Togashi
Yoshiaki Umegaki
Kenichi Urata
Masanosuke Yamaguchi
Yukiharu Yamaguchi
Shûji Yamazaki

Directed by
Nagisa Oshima

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nagisa Oshima		writer
Ryotaro Shiba		novellas "Maegami No Sozaburo" and "Sanjogawara Ranjin from Shinsengumi Keppuroku"

Produced by
Jean Labadie	....	associate producer
Masayuki Motomochi	....	producer
Shigehiro Nakagawa	....	executive producer
Eiko Oshima	....	executive producer
Nobuyoshi Ôtani	....	associate producer
Kazuo Shimizu	....	executive producer
Jeremy Thomas	....	associate producer
Ichirô Yamamoto	....	assistant producer

Original Music by
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Cinematography by
Toyomichi Kurita

Film Editing by
Tomoyo Oshima

Art Direction by
Yoshinobu Nishioka

Costume Design by
Emi Wada

Makeup Department
Kiyomi Hirose	....	hair stylist
Yuriko Nishikawa	....	hair stylist
Mitsuyo Takasaki	....	makeup artist
Ihoko Uchiyama	....	makeup artist
Kunio Yamazaki	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yusuke Narita	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Hiroshi Abe	....	assistant sound recordist
Kunio Ando	....	sound recordist
Hiroshi Ishigai	....	assistant sound recordist
Takako Kawamoto	....	sound effects (as Keiko Kawamoto)
Osamu Matsumoto	....	assistant to sound recordist
Shinsuke Nagashima	....	assistant to sound recordist
Kenji Shibazaki	....	sound effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Akira Sakoh	....	Steadicam operator

Editorial Department
Chie Aoki	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Fernando Aponte	....	score mixer
Fernando Aponte	....	score recordist

Other crew
Thierry Valletoux	....	reportage

Production Companies

• BS Asahi
• Bac Films
• Canal+
• Eisei Gekijo
• Imagica Corp.
• Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.
• Oshima Productions
• Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
• Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

Distributors

• Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo (1999) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Golden Scene (2000) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Kulturföreningen Kedjan (2001) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• New Yorker Films (2000) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Triangelfilm (2001) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United King Films (????) (Israel) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Momentum Pictures (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Taboo (International: English title)
Tabou (Gohatto) (France)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

France | UK | Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company:

BS Asahi

Love Among Samurais

Ïn 1865, in Kyoto, in a period of fights among different clans, Sozaburo Kano (Ryuhei Matsuda) and Hyozo Tashiro (Tadanobu Asano) join a samurai legion to be trained as warriors. The beauty of the manipulative Kano sexually attracts the other men, including high ranking commanders, and he becomes lover of Tashiro.

"Gohatto" is a weird movie for westerns like me, who are not familiarized with Japanese culture. However, it is a beautiful movie, with a stunning music score and a wonderful photography. Although I have not completely understood the plot, specially the conclusion of the story, I found this movie very intriguing and I liked it. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Tabu" (Taboo")