Sennen no koi - Hikaru Genji monogatari (2001)

Director:

Tonkô Horikawa

Writer:

Akira Hayasaka (writer)

Release Date:

15 December 2001 (Japan)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Music | Romance

Plot:

Based on the ancient Japanese Tale of Genji. This film is set in 900AD and tells the story of a famous female writer of the time...

Plot Keywords:

Playboy | Polygamy | Based On Legend | Male Domination | Sex With Child

Awards:

2 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Sayuri Yoshinaga	...	Murasaki Shikibu
Yûki Amami	...	Hikaru Genji
Toru Kazama	...	Tô no Chûjô
Morio Kazama	...	Jûjôtei
Tsurutarô Kataoka	...	Eshi - painter
Rino Katase	...	Ôkisaki
Kyôko Kishida	...	Gen no Naishi no Suke
Reiko Takashima	...	Fujitsubo no Chûgû / Kiritsubo no Kôi
Keiko Takeshita	...	Rokujô no Miyasundokoro
Naoto Takenaka	...	Akashi no Nyûdô
Yasunori Danda	...	Fujiwara no Korenori
Takako Tokiwa	...	Murasaki no Ue
Shinobu Nakayama	...	Aoi no Ue
Fumie Hosokawa	...	Akashi no Kimi
Aki Maeda	...	Kataiko

Also Known As:

Genji: A Thousand-Year Love

Runtime:

143 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Asahi Hoso

A new twist on Genji

Bringing Genji Monogatari to the screen was never going to be easy.

How can you take a 1000 year old book, set in a world that is more outlandish to modern people than any alien civilisation depicted in a Sci-Fi movie, and make it interesting to a modern audience?

Of course, The Tale of Genji is full of sex which helps, and another way is to tone down the the differences between Heian Japan, and the modern world - No fashionably blackened teeth here, and interaction between the sexes instead of Court ladies being always hidden from male view and communicating through poetry. Murasaki Shikibu is even pictured riding in a carriage with 2 men!!! The real Murasaki (whoever she really was) would rather have died than do that. Oh, and having The Shining Prince played by a girl is an interesting twist. And strangely... it works! Even the occasional pop song seem to blend into this fantasy world without jarring too much.

It's not really The Tale of Genji, it's more of the tale of Murasaki writing The Tale of Genji, with excerpts from the book shown throughout depicting the life and many loves of The Shining Prince.

As one of the few films that try to portray pre-samurai Heian Japan, I found it interesting just for that. Sure it's not a Great film, but it's enjoyable enough. There are a few moments of humour, the costumes are beautiful, and so are most of the girls (and Genji).