The Harimaya Bridge (2009)

Director:

Aaron Woolfolk

Writer:

Aaron Woolfolk (written by)

Release Date:

13 June 2009 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After the sudden death of his estranged son in rural Japan, an American man must go there to claim some important family items. While there, he discovers some secrets his son left behind. |

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Bennet Guillory	...	Daniel Holder
Saki Takaoka	...	Noriko Kubo
Misa Shimizu	...	Yuiko Hara
Danny Glover	...	Joseph Holder
Victor Grant	...	Mickey Holder
Sakura Thomas	...	Mariya
Misono	...	Saita Nakayama
Hajime Yamazaki	...	Kunji Inoue
Miho Shiraishi	...	Kayo Takeuchi
Honoka	...	Emi Osaki
Yukiko Kashiwagi	...	Ms. Kubo
Toshiyuki Kitami	...	Mr. Kubo
Peter Coyote	...	Albert Tunney
A'da Alison Woolfolk	...	Lindsey Holder
Junkichi Orimoto	...	Tomoki Shide
Akira Hamada	...	Principal Shimura
Rico E. Anderson	...	Grant Holder
Michael T. Coleman	...	Ross
John Gallagher	...	Mark
Miho Ninagawa	...	Ms. Osaki
Kiyotaka Terauchi	...	Shinto Priest
David Ramadanoff	...	Orchestra Conductor
Marc McTizic	...	Young Daniel
Kailon Loud	...	Young Mickey
Aya Kazuki	...	Teacher #1
Yoshie Yamasaki	...	Waitress
Shuji Shiroshita	...	Sake Store Owner
Sayoko Uga	...	Flower Shop Owner
Noriko Sano	...	Inoue's Wife
Yuko Wada	...	Shide's Wife
Koji Kariya	...	Government Official #1
Rikumi Nishimoto	...	Government Official #2
Noriko Omura	...	Neighbor #1
Yoshiki Yamamoto	...	Neighbor #2
Hisao Miyauchi	...	Neighbor #3
Teruaki Konishi	...	Neighbor #4
Fukutaro Nishimori	...	Elderly Man
Minoru Yamamoto	...	Mr. Nakasone

Directed by
Aaron Woolfolk

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Aaron Woolfolk		written by

Produced by
Danny Glover	....	executive producer
Tim Harms	....	line producer: San Francisco unit
Muneyuki Kii	....	co-producer
John Kim	....	executive producer
Tatsuya Kimura	....	co-producer
James Lane	....	associate producer
Ko Mori	....	producer
Chikako Nakabayashi	....	line producer
Lee Rudnicki	....	associate producer
Aaron Woolfolk	....	producer
Naoshi Yoda	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Kazunori Maruyama

Cinematography by
Masao Nakabori

Film Editing by
John Coniglio

Art Direction by
Takahisa Taguchi

Set Decoration by
Nao Nishimori
Yukiyo Sato

Makeup Department
Gaea Bogue	....	hair stylist: San Francisco unit
Gaea Bogue	....	makeup artist: San Francisco
Kirsten Coleman	....	assistant hair stylist: San Francisco unit
Kirsten Coleman	....	assistant makeup artist: San Francisco
Sayoko Koyama	....	assistant hair stylist
Sayoko Koyama	....	assistant makeup artist
Masami	....	hair stylist
Masami	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Isao Komatsu	....	production manager
Keiki Nishimura	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Satoko Fukuma	....	second assistant director
Ehren Koepf	....	first assistant director: San Francisco
Katsura Murata	....	assistant director
Pete Paduano	....	second assistant director: San Francisco
Tomoko Takahashi	....	third assistant director
Kenji Yamauchi	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Atom Gray	....	art director: San Francisco
Shohei Imamura	....	property master
Michael John Lapid	....	art department assistant: San Francisco (as Michael Lapid)
Timothy Andrew Phelan	....	property master: San Francisco

Sound Department
Henry Auerbach	....	sound effects editor
David Barber	....	dialogue editor
David Barber	....	sound re-recording mixer
Melissa Bylsma	....	post audio coordinator
Jun Hiraoka	....	boom operator
Yûki Katô	....	sound assistant
Mike Pipgras	....	foley editor
Mike Pipgras	....	sound effects editor
Tom Ralston	....	boom operator: San Francisco
David Silberberg	....	sound mixer: San Francisco
Rin Takada	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Nick Anthony	....	grip: San Francisco unit
Takuya Fukushima	....	grip
Yasuhiro Ishiguro	....	grip
Brian Kimmy	....	grip: San Francisco unit
Satoru Kubo	....	key grip
Antonio Maldonado	....	best boy electric: San Francisco unit
Nicholas H. Martin	....	second assistant camera: San Francisco unit
Jinichiro Nakabori	....	assistant camera
John C. Reyes	....	first assistant camera: San Francisco unit
Akira Sekiguchi	....	video engineer
Roderick Spencer	....	gaffer: San Francisco unit
Ichiro Suzuki	....	assistant camera
Naoki Takahashi	....	assistant camera
Hiromichi Takeyama	....	gaffer
Marc Wall	....	key grip: San Francisco unit

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eileen Agas	....	wardrobe supervisor: San Francisco unit
Junko Kobayashi	....	wardrobe supervisor
Kana Miura	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Tomoyo Oshima	....	editing consultant

Transportation Department
Ryukou Funaki	....	driver
Toshiaki Hosokawa	....	driver
Mineo Sakakibara	....	driver

Other crew
Martine Charnow	....	script supervisor: San Francisco unit
Daryl Freimark	....	production coordinator: San Francisco unit
Patrice Henderson	....	production assistant: San Francisco unit
David Hernandes	....	production assistant: San Francisco unit
Gen Ito	....	production assistant
Takamichi Kobayashi	....	production assistant
Beryl Levy	....	production intern: San Francisco
Mao Nagakura	....	production assistant
Ryuhei Okada	....	production assistant
Suhee Park	....	production coordinator: San Francisco unit
Kyle Parker	....	production assistant: San Francisco unit
Jeni Paulson	....	music licensing and clearances
Lee Rudnicki	....	production attorney
Mari Taike	....	dialect coach
Akio Takami	....	production coordinator
Trevor J. Terrill	....	production assistant: San Francisco unit

Production Companies

• Eleven Arts
• Laterna
• Booster Project
• SSD

Distributors

• SSD (2009) (Korea) (theatrical)
• T-Joy (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Eleven Arts (2009) (USA) (all media) (sales)
• Gravitas Ventures (2011) (USA) (video) (VOD)

Other Companies

• 1/2 Un-Demi  wardrobe
• CopyCat Music Licensing  music clearance and licensing
• Crystalia  wardrobe
• Diable  wardrobe
• Fantasysta  wardrobe
• Figaro Club Formal  wardrobe
• JP Studio  soundtrack
• Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs  funding
• Juniper Post  post-production sound services
• KP  wardrobe
• Liberal  wardrobe
• Love El  wardrobe
• NICE Day  post-production
• Nikkatsu Studio Center  post-production sound services
• Trussardi  wardrobe

Also Known As:

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Kochi, Japan

Company:

Eleven Arts

Trivia:

Though deceased in "The Harimaya Bridge," the character Mickey is very much alive and featured as the central character in the short films "Eki" (The Station) and "Kuroi Hitsuji" (Black Sheep). "Eki," a comedy, takes place two weeks after Mickey first arrives in Japan. "Kuroi Hitsuji," a drama, takes place after Mickey has been in Japan for six months.

A great film. Wonderful piece of work.

I'm an American living in Tokyo, and I'd been waiting for this movie to come out. It's gotten a lot of buzz since last year, so I was very interested in seeing it. Fortunately it more than lives up to the hype. It's a very beautiful and moving film, and I can't recommend it enough.

The story concerns an African-American man who hates Japan, and who has a rift with his son when the son decides to come teach English here. The son dies in an accident, and the father must come to Japan to retrieve his son's artwork. The film follows the father as he learns to come to terms with his son's death, and as he discovers things about his son's life in Japan.

What's remarkable is how much this movie plays in many ways like a Japanese film, even though director and writer Aaron Woolfolk is an American. I read in an interview that he once lived here and returns to visit often. I guess Japan has really rubbed off on him.

I wonder how this film will play in America. It might be regarded as a little slow. And I certainly don't mean "slow" in a bad or boring way. Actually, THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE moves much more rapidly and with more energy than your typical Japanese drama. But I can see some of my countrymen with their MTV-influenced attention spans not being able to put up with the reduced pace of the film. Which would be a real shame, since much of the film's beauty and artistry comes from its pace.

Nonetheless, I think the movie is a great achievement. Especially since this is Woolfolk's first full-length film. The outstanding writing and the inspired direction go hand-in-hand. This is one of those movies where you feel like you're getting true insight into the filmmaker's mind, heart, and soul. Moreover, the acting, the camera work, and the music are all top-notch. The story is something new and fresh. And the message of the film is really wonderful. All of these things add up to me giving THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE my highest recommendation.