Sakuran (2006)

Director:

Mika Ninagawa

Writers:

Moyoco Anno (comic)
Yuki Tanada (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 February 2007 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot Keywords:

Based On Comic | Courtesan

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Anna Tsuchiya	...	Kiyoha
Kippei Shiina	...	Kuranosuke
Yoshino Kimura	...	Takao
Hiroki Narimiya	...	Sojiro
Miho Kanno	...	Shohi
Masatoshi Nagase	...	Mitsunobu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Masanobu Ando	...	Seiji
Kayoko Aoyagi
Ken'ichi Endô	...	Sakaguchi
Yasushi Higuchi
Akiko Hoshino
Yuki Hyôdô
Sadanji Ichikawa IV	...	Retired man
Renji Ishibashi	...	Owner
Kyôko Koizumi	...	Oran
Narumi Konno	...	Yukiji
Minami	...	Wakagiku
Keishi Nagatsuka
Yuri Nakamura
Mari Natsuki	...	Mother
Miho Ninagawa	...	Momoka
Shun Oguri	...	Florist
Kenji Takama
Hiroyuki Tanaka	...	Patron (as Sabu)
Ai Yamaguchi	...	Shigeji

Runtime:

Germany:111 min (Berlin International Film Festival)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | South Korea:18 | Taiwan:R-12 | Japan:PG-12 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Fellah Pictures

Quotes:

Shohi: The more a girl is given things, the more the others hate her. Since nobody likes you, it's perfect.

This ain't no artsy-fartsy geisha movie...

If you pick up "Sakuran" with the intention of enjoying another artsy, sensitive depiction of geisha life, you're dead wrong. "Sakuran" is a movie about *oiran* life (for those who do not know: geisha are entertainers, and oiran are prostitutes). As such, you're not going to watch a bunch of well-behaved and manicured women. Here, you'll see bitch-slaps, coarse language, and a hard-ass main character with a rather modern view of life who can't really fit in with her peers. In other words, despite the fact that its setting is in the past, it's a fitting movie for the modern woman to relate to.

"Sakuran" is based on a Japanese manga series, so many scenes in the movie are shown with many colors. It's beautiful in its own way, though movie purists aren't going to like it. It also has a lot of pop music in it, which purists are going to find jarring and dissonant with the period depicted. However, the target audience is clearly not them, and the movie will treat them with the same disdain that the main character (herself played by a pop star turned actress) shows toward the high-class, privileged lords and samurai.

The movie makes many statements about the Japanese class system and politics, too, but it doesn't exactly shove them down your throat, either. In the end, the movie is about the freedom to choose love in spite of the expectations of class and vocation. Don't take it too seriously, and enjoy the ride.