Eureka (2000)

Director:

Shinji Aoyama

Writer:

Shinji Aoyama (written by)

Release Date:

17 November 2000 (Greece)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Shovel | Hijacking | Coughing Blood | Survivor | Volcano

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Kôji Yakusho	...	Makoto Sawai
Aoi Miyazaki	...	Kozue Tamura
Masaru Miyazaki	...	Naoki Tamura
Yôichirô Saitô	...	Akihiko
Sayuri Kokushô	...	Yumiko
Ken Mitsuishi	...	Shigeo
Gô Rijû	...	Busjack Man
Yutaka Matsushige	...	Matsuoka
Sansei Shiomi	...	Yoshiyuki Sawai
Kimie Shingyôji	...	Mother
Denden
Eihi Shiina	...	Keiko Kono
Yûji Nakamura
Eimei Esumi
Yôko Noma
Machiko Ono	...	Mikiko
Hajime Inoue
Seigi Ôzeki
Tetsurô Honda
Kenji Tokunaga
Yukihiro Jôtaki
Kôji Araki
Jôji Watanabe
Masumi Chaya
Kiyoshi Matsuda
Yoshiteru Kubota
Makoto Shiokawa
Nobuyuki Yamamura
Akiko Imaizumi
Shôko Ariza
Mineyuki Takano
Nobuyuki Nakamura
Yoshito Tsurusaki
Mitsuo Minamishima
Atsuko Yamaguchi
Hideo Kubota
Yûsuke Sô
Kaori Hamakita
Fûsui Kamisaka
Mieko Ogawa
Tetsuya Takamiya
Ryûji Shimokawa
Hiroki Nakamura
Hiroyuki Nagano
Yumiko Matsuda
Kae Yoshitake
Tamiji Kobayashi
Hiroshi Aramaki
Shinobu Kuriyama
Yamato Murakami
Ryûji Chiwata
Hideyuki Fujino
Takuma Watanabe
Kozue Hori
Takuya Yoshida
Shinobu Tachibana
Tomiko Niihara
Yuki Niihara
Haruko Hanada
Teruko Kubota
Ayumi Yamamura
Takayoshi Tanaka
Toshio Tsurukawa
Hirotoshi Tanaka
Shin Shikage
Mikaho Shikage
Sachiko Kanda

Directed by
Shinji Aoyama

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Shinji Aoyama		written by

Produced by
Philippe Avril	....	co-producer
Takenori Sentô	....	producer

Original Music by
Shinji Aoyama
Isao Yamada

Cinematography by
Masaki Tamura

Film Editing by
Shinji Aoyama

Production Design by
Takeshi Shimizu

Sound Department
Nobuyuki Kikuchi	....	sound

Special Effects by
Masami Kobayashi	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Yuzuru Sato	....	gaffer

Other crew
Stephen Schible	....	international coordinator

Production Companies

• DENTSU Music And Entertainment
• Imagica Corp.
• J Works
• Les Films de L'Observatoire
• Suncent CinemaWorks
• Tokyo Theaters Company

Distributors

• Suncent CinemaWorks (2001) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Sagittaire Films (France)
• Shooting Gallery (2001) (USA) (subtitled)

Other Companies

• Active Cine Club (ACC) K.K.  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

Runtime:

217 min

Country:

Japan | France

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Hungary:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:14

Company:

DENTSU Music And Entertainment

Soundtrack:

Eureka

A beautiful meditation on the problem of evil

Eureka tells an enormously soul searching and moving story about three people's attempt to find meaning and purpose after experiencing a grizzly "busjack" (i.e. a bus hijack). Thus, its "subject matter" and the problem with which it deals is as old as philosophy itself: finding meaning and hope in a world where such senseless acts of violence and evil occurs. The three characters are Kozue (girl) and Naoki (boy), who are middle school aged siblings, and Makoto, who is the driver of the hijacked bus. They are eventually joined by the children's college-aged uncle, Akihiko (who also provides some memorable comedic moments).

There's not too much dialog in Eureka, as Kozue and Naoki are mute throughout much of the film (as a result of their trauma), but we can sense the confusing and searing emotions that lie just beneath their silence. Director Shinji Aoyama (wisely) lets the story and the characters unfold / develop at a very deliberate and slow pace, eschewing quick cutting and montage in favor of carefully crafted compositions within the vast cinemascope frame. Due to its realistic style, at times Eureka feels like a documentary.

Having said this, however, I can also say confidently that many will be put off by Eureka simply due to its epic running time (= 3 hours 37 minutes minus the credits). But let me just remark personally that although it _is_ long, Eureka definitely _feels_ a lot shorter (after it's over) than most 2 hour Hollywood films. (In fact, I don't think that Eureka would have worked as a "2 hour film"--for roughly the same reason that a "Reader's Digest" version of War and Peace wouldn't be as powerful as the full-length novel.) Don't get me wrong: Eureka is demanding (this is a "thinking person's" film), but it is not overly daunting. This is a daring film that asks a lot of its viewers, but which delivers much by way of emotional payoff (to those who persevere).

Eureka eventually turns into a kind of existential road movie, as the four characters try to "start over" by taking a trip on Makoto's new bus. And although I won't give it away, Eureka has an ending that is truly beautiful, quietly moving, and charged with a glimmer of hope.

Finally, although it is rarely heard in the film, the original musical score by Aoyama and Isao Yamada really adds emotional resonance whenever it plays. It's unforgettable and simultaneously beautiful and elegiac. Overall, I consider Eureka to be a great example of "humanistic" filmmaking in the tradition of Kurosawa and Ozu. Only time will tell whether or not it will be considered a masterpiece, but in my book Shinji Aoyama has created one of the truly unforgettable films of 2001.