Picture Bride (1994)

Riyo marries a man more than twice her age. She is devastated and labors in the sugar cane field. At the end she is able to love her husband.

Director:

Kayo Hatta

Writers:

Kayo Hatta (screenplay), Kayo Hatta (story)

Stars:

Yûki Kudô, Akira Takayama, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Yûki Kudô	...	Riyo
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Kanzaki
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Kana
Akira Takayama	...	Matsuji
Yôko Sugi	...	Aunt Sode
Christianne Mays	...	Miss Pieper
Toshirô Mifune	...	The Benshi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Ashby	...	McCullum
James Grant Benton	...	Antone
Glenn Cannon	...	Mer. Pieper
Lito Capina	...	Augusto (as Lito Capiña)
Peter Clark	...	Christian minister
Warren Fabro	...	Felipe
Michael Hasegawa	...	Immigration officer
Kyle Kakuno	...	Yamamoto

Storyline

The story of 16-year-old Riyo who journeys to Hawaii in 1918 to marry a man she has never met, except through photographs and letters they have exchanged. Hoping to escape a troubled past and to start anew, Riyo is bitterly disappointed upon her arrival: her husband is twice her age and Hawaii is not the paradise she expected. As Riyo comes to terms with her new home, she discovers a land full of hardship, struggle--and unexpected joy.

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Plot Keywords:

hawaii | f rated | japanese in hawaii | death | loveless marriage | 

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Taglines:

Hawaii, 1918. She left Japan for a man she had never met, in a new world she couldn't imagine... America.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally scheduled to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1994 but was withdrawn at the filmmakers' request and instead premiered the following year.

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Quotes

Miguel: [referring to Matsuji] Do I have to be HIS age before I can afford a bride like her?

User Reviews

A poignant and emotional portrayal of indentured servitude and arranged marriage in turn-of-the-century Hawaii.

Picture Bride paints a realistic and moving portrait of what it must have been like for Japanese men brought to Hawaii at the turn of the 19th Century to work in the sugar cane fields. Most came planning to return to their homeland, but few were ever able to do so. Equally movingly portrayed is the fate of Japanese women, some as young as fifteen or sixteen, who were sent as promised brides to men they knew only through photographs that often were 10 or 15-years out of date, or were of some other younger man. They too worked long hard hours in the fields, while fighting homesickness and to preserve their dignity.

Director Hatta's portrayal of one picture bride's courage and perseverance struggling to survive in a strange land and alien society under great physical duress, is, ultimately, inspirational and uplifting--a story of moral and cultural survival. There is a grandness and magnificence of sweep of character and landscape in Picture Bride that captures the alluring beauty as well as violent harshness of colonial Hawaii. This is a film that is emotionally, intellectually and artistically rewarding.

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

5 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Picture Bride

Filming Locations:

Waialua, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$44,380, 30 April 1995

Gross USA:

$1,238,905

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,238,905

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecile Films, Miramax, Thousand Cranes Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1