Doragon heddo (2003)

Director:

Jôji Iida

Writers:

Minetaro Mochizuki (comic)
Masa Nakamura (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 August 2003 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Piano Playing | Knocked Out | Foot Chase | Jump From Window | Blood

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Satoshi Tsumabuki	...	Teru Aoki
Sayaka	...	Ako Seto
Takayuki Yamada	...	Nobuo Takahashi
Naohito Fujiki	...	Nimura
Yoshimasa Kondô	...	Iwata
Kyûsaku Shimada	...	Minila
Minori Terada	...	Andou
Jinpachi Nezu	...	Matsuo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Camille LaBry	...	Ako Seto (voice)
Yutaka Matsushige

Also Known As:

Dragon Head (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 (cable rating) | Japan:G | USA:R

Company:

Amuse Pictures

An odd mix of boring and annoying

Yes, the manga-inspired art direction is very fine. Too bad there's no plot, and it's paced slower than a Bergman film, and there's not a single actor in it who knows how to convey distress without shouting, whining and falling down. Literally, they spend most of the movie doing those three things, over and over and over, until you wonder why they don't all kill one another and drink one another's blood--not to survive, but just to shut everyone up. For a post- apocalyptic sci-fi type film, it's amazing how very little else happens in its very s- l-o-w two hours. And yet for all its ponderous and portentous stylings, it says nothing to us about survival or friendship or civilization or etc.--all the Big Issues this type of movie is supposed to have us ponder--that we don't get from airheaded Hollywood blockbusters like "Armageddon" and "War of the Worlds."