Jirai wo fundara sayônara (1999)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Sho Igarashi

Writer:

Toshiharu Maruuchi (screenplay)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

You, have you truly lived your own life?)

Plot:

A biographical film of war photographer, Taizo Ichinose. |

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Tadanobu Asano	...	Taizo Ichinose
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chao Channary
Thorng Darachhaya	...	Lookrew (Teacher)
Michiko Hada	...	Yoshino Ichinose
Jin Hirao
Vo Song Huong	...	Le Phan (waitress of cafe)
Yoshie Ichige	...	Nobuko Ichinose
O-pas Janesomboom	...	Channa
Pinyo Janesomboom	...	Sotta
Yusuke Kawazu	...	Seiji Ichinose
Mikiko Miki
Yukimasa Natori
Peng Phan
Robert Slater	...	Tim Hill
Kenichi Yajima	...	Lookrew (Teacher)
Saya Yamada

Also Known As:

One Step on a Mine, It's All Over (International: English title)

Runtime:

111 min

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Team Okuyama

Occasionally moving portrait of a war photographer

This is the story of a young Japanese photographer, Taizo Ichinose, who worked during the conflicts of Vietnam and Cambodia in the early 1970's. At the start of the movie, his only wish is to become a successful war photographer getting his photos on the front page of the New York Times etc.. He becomes increasingly obsessed with taking a photograph of Angkor Wat in North Eastern Cambodia, which was at that time held by the Khmer Rouge, initially as a means of acheiving the above, but it eventually becomes the goal itself. This is based on a true story, and I don't know what parts have been embellished but some of the elements of this movie has been well covered in other movies; battle scar'd war journalists, friendly locals, the outsider, the statutory beautiful Vietnamese woman etc. etc. Having said all that, I still enjoyed this movie, mostly because of Tadanobu Asano, who plays the lead role. He creates an intensely likable character; brave, genuine, curious (though not intrusive), intelligent, optimistic of human nature in the face of so much horror, able to learn and accept the diversity of the world. A hero for our time perhaps ? There's also some lovely shots of Angkor, which could be described as being to Asia what the Pyramids are to Africa.