Tasogare Seibei (2002)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Yôji Yamada

Writers:

Shûhei Fujisawa (novels)
Yôji Yamada (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 November 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A 19th-century samurai tries to protect a battered wife.

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Widower | Duel | Sheath | Seppuku

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 37 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Hiroyuki Sanada	...	Seibei Iguchi
Rie Miyazawa	...	Tomoe Iinuma
Nenji Kobayashi	...	Choubei Kusaka
Ren Ôsugi	...	Toyotarou Kouda
Mitsuru Fukikoshi	...	Michinojo Iinuma
Kanako Fukaura
Hiroshi Kanbe	...	Naota
Miki Itô	...	Kayano Iguchi
Erina Hashiguchi	...	Ito Iguchi
Reiko Kusamura	...	Iguchi's Mother
Setsuko Tanaka
Kii Mizuno
Yuuki Natsusaka
Astushi Maeda
Tsukasa Sugawara
Kouichi Taniguchi
Teruhiko Tanaka
Takako Miyashima
Sachiko Takada
Mayu Komori
Astushi Yoshikawa
Kenji Yoshida
Takashi Yamazaki
Shinya Amako
Rio Ishino
Norio Satou
Keishi Arashi
Baijaku Nakamura
Makoto Akatsuka
Masahiro Satô
Senri Sakurai
Masayasu Kitayama
Toshinori Omi
Shinjiro Nakamura
Min Tanaka	...	Zenemon Yogo
Keiko Kishi	...	Ito
Tetsuro Tamba	...	Tozaemon Iguchi

Directed by
Yôji Yamada

Writing credits
Shûhei Fujisawa		(novels "Tasogare Seibei", "Chikkou Shiatsu" and "Iwaibito Sukehachi")
Yôji Yamada		(screenplay) and
Yoshitaka Asama		(screenplay)

Produced by
Hiroshi Fukazawa	....	producer
Tomiyasu Ishikawa	....	executive producer
Tetsuo Kan	....	executive producer
Tomoo Miyakawa	....	executive producer
Shigehiro Nakagawa	....	producer
Toshio Ogiwara	....	executive producer
Motoyuki Oka	....	executive producer
Nobuyoshi Ôtani	....	executive producer
Ichirô Yamamoto	....	producer

Original Music by
Isao Tomita

Cinematography by
Mutsuo Naganuma

Film Editing by
Iwao Ishii

Production Design by
Mitsuo Degawa

Art Direction by
Yoshinobu Nishioka

Costume Design by
Kazuko Kurosawa

Production Management
Takakazu Aiba	....	production manager
Yoshinori Aso	....	production manager
Junichi Mine	....	unit manager
Motohiko Saitou	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kinichi Hanawa	....	assistant director
Emiko Hiramatsu	....	trainee assistant director

Sound Department
Kazumi Kishida	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Miho Kimbara	....	assistant camera
Genken Nakaoka	....	lighting designer

Music Department
Yousui Inoue	....	composer: theme song "Kimerareta Rizumu"

Other crew
Hiroshi Kuze	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Eisei Gekijo Company
• Hakuhodo
• Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Nippan) K.K.
• Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)
• Shochiku Company
• Sumitomo Corporation

Special Effects

• Nippon Effect Center (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Continental Far East  Dolby consultant
• Ekuran Engi Shudan  extras
• Gekidan Mugi No Kai  extras
• Japan Action Enterprise Co. Ltd.  extras
• Kodak Japan  film stock supplied by
• Koei Shinsha  camera equipment supplied by
• Office Big  extras
• Shochiku Gekino Kyoto Yoseijo  extras
• Shochiku Music Publishing  music production
• Shochiku Sound Studio  post-production sound services
• Shochiku Sound Studio  recording studio
• Tokyo Laboratory Co. Ltd.  film processing
• Tokyo TV Center  sound optical printing

Also Known As:

The Twilight Samurai (UK)

Runtime:

Germany:129 min | USA:129 min | Argentina:129 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:M | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Eisei Gekijo Company

Quotes:

Seibei Iguchi: I am ashamed to say that over many years of hardship with two daughters, a sick wife and an aged mother, I have lost the desire to wield a sword. A serious fight, the killing of a man, requires animal ferocity and calm disregard for one's own life. I have neither of those within me now. Perhaps in a month... alone with the beasts in the hills I could get them back. But tomorrow, I am afraid, is completely impossible.

Movie Connections:

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

Sanada's Brilliant Performance

Hiroyuki Sanada (Western audiences may recognize him from his recent turn as Ujio from The Last Samurai, 2003), carries this film with his masterful acting, making the portrayal of "Tasogarei Seibei" (a.k.a. a samurai jokingly called "Twilight" by his colleagues), a poignant and memorable portrayal of a true hero.

Sanada plays Seibei Iguchi, a poor, 50-koku ranked samurai who has to support his two daughters and a senile mother, due to the passing away of his wife. The structure and plot turns of the story are simple, but fascinating to watch unfold, and it is perhaps the simplicity and novelistic grace of the narrative that makes the film so remarkable. Seibei works as a scribe with his fellow samurai, and always has to rush home after work to attend to his duties as a father. He lets hygieine slowly slide into second priority (resulting in rather unkempt clothes and socks), but in general, he doesn't seem to care: his two daughters he treasures above all other things. When a woman named Tomoe, a childhood friend that Seibei was particularly fond of, suddenly re-appers into his life, Seibei makes certain decisions that he ultimately ends up regretting later. The rest of the story is full of very interesting plot develoments, playing with the audience's expectations (especially with the relationship between Tomoe and Seiebi), and although the film is not a traditional samurai film in that it does not have alot of action scenes, the composition of the tale, and its "storytelling" invocation (one of the daughters narrates) is good enough to keep you watching.

Hiroyuki Sanada playing Seibei is really a marvel to watch; he adds a very sensible depth and modesty to the character, and infuses it with some understated comic acting as well. At the end of the film, after the climatic final battle, Sanada is able to make the character of Seibei resonate with a very unconventional but nonetheless strong and beautiful heroism. Sanada is really a very talented thespian, and in this film, you may get to sample the sheer range of his great technique. For the world-class acting work he did in this film, he won a Japanese Academy Award, and the film also got noticed by the Oscars (nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, 2004). If there's a chance your able to catch this film in a local theatre (usually, it plays at Landmark) do so, you won't regret it. You'll be able to watch an excellent story unfold, and also see some of the finest acting in world cinema today.