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The Castle of Sand ()

Suna no utsuwa (original title)
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Detectives investigate the murder of an old man found in a Tokyo rail yard.

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Cast

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Eitaro Imanishi
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Eiryo Waga
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Hiroshi Yoshimura
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Reiko Takagi
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Sachiko Tadokoro
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Chiyokichi Motoura
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Hideo Motoura
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Kirihara
Junko Natsu ...
Akiko
Seiji Matsuyama ...
Miki's Son
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Search Section Chief
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Naka Sumie
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Search Chief Clerk
Tokue Hanazawa ...
Miki's Colleague in Flashback
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Publican at Ebisu
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Professor Kuwabara
Kappei Matsumoto ...
Mimori Police Chief
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Patrolman
Takanobu Hozumi ...
Matsuzaki
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Iwagi Police Chief
Asaya Fujita ...
Forensic Technician
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Yamashita
Akiko Nomura ...
Old Woman at Wakaba Apartment
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Miki's Wife
Mitsuyo Inomata ...
Waitress at Bar Ron
Yôkichi Gotô ...
Tsutsui
Sanpeita Mori ...
Detective at Iwagi Station
Hisashi Imabashi ...
Asahi Shop Owner (as Go Imabashi)
Ken'ichi Katô ...
Policeman Driving Jeep
Tatsuo Sakurabe ...
Surgeon at Setagaya
Akira Sera ...
Fan Shop Owner
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Patrolman at Setagaya
Junko Yoshida ...
Clerk at Naniwa Yakusho
Mitsuzô Nakamura ...
Policeman at Ebisu
Akira Matsuda ...
Clerk in Charge at Naniwa Yakusho
Kibaji Tankobo ...
West Kamata Detective
Takashi Tabata
Tatsuki Bessho ...
Bartender at Bar Ron
Yuri Takase ...
Waitress at Bar Ron
Teishiro Nishijima ...
West Kamata Police Chief
Kyôsuke Matsunami
Mitsuru Yamazaki ...
West Kamata Detective
Shin Kitayama ...
West Kamata Detective
Ura Shintarô ...
West Kamata Detective
Takuo Senga ...
West Kamata Detective
Kunji Harada
Yûtarô Ôsugi ...
(as Yuji Osugi)
Shintarô Mishima ...
(as Shintaro Mishima)
Yuichi Kikuchi ...
Waga's Friend
Tatsuo Ito
Hiroshi Takahashi ...
West Kamata Detective
Yukihide Yamamoto ...
Metropolitan Police HQ Detective
Noriyuki Watanabe ...
West Kamata Detective
Kentarô Imai ...
Metropolitan Police HQ Detective
Hideaki Komori ...
Metropolitan Police HQ Detective
Keiji Tsuchida ...
West Kamata Chief Detective
Hideto Nakagawa
Shûichi Oki ...
(as Shuichi Oki)
Nobuo Takagi
Jun Kajima
Taeko Sakata
Kiyo Murakami ...
Oku
Yumiko Higashitani
Ryôko Mizuki ...
Farmer at Kamedake
Yoshiko Togawa ...
Staff in Charge at Jikoen Nursing Home
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Shigeka Tadokoro
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Kenichi Miki
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Movie Theater Manager
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eiko Muramatsu ...
Mama at Ginza Club (uncredited)

Directed by

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Yoshitarô Nomura

Written by

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Seichô Matsumoto ... (based on the novel by)
 
Shinobu Hashimoto ... (screenplay by) &
Yôji Yamada ... (screenplay by)
 
Yoshitarô Nomura ... ()

Produced by

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Shinobu Hashimoto ... producer (produced by)
Yoshiharu Mishima ... producer (produced by)
Masayuki Satô ... producer (produced by)
Shigemi Sugisaki ... associate producer

Music by

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Yasushi Akutagawa

Cinematography by

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Takashi Kawamata

Editing by

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Kazuo Ôta

Production Design by

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Kaneo Kawanabe

Art Direction by

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Kyôhei Morita

Set Decoration by

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Noboru Isozaki

Production Management

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Yûji Nagashima ... production supervisor
Hiroshi Yoshioka ... executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Isao Kumagai ... assistant director

Art Department

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Rokurô Wakabayashi ... set designer

Sound Department

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Yukio Fukushima ... sound effects editor
Ryûji Matsumoto ... sound editor
Tadahiko Yamamoto ... sound recordist
Shôtarô Yoshida ... sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department

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Matsutaro Kobayashi ... gaffer

Music Department

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Mitsuaki Kanno ... pianist
Hiroshi Kumagai ... musical director

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Two concurrent stories that eventually do intersect are told. The primary story concerns a murder investigation of a bludgeoned John Doe, estimated to be in his early- to mid-sixties, the body discovered at the Kamata Rail Yard in Tokyo and moved there post-mortem to make it look like he died by being hit by a train. The investigative team includes experienced Inspector Eitaro Imanishi and novice Detective Hiroshi Yoshimura. The slim leads they have in even discovering the identity of the John Doe, let alone the murderer, stem from an overheard conversation at a local bar between the victim and the perpetrator, the men unknown to anyone in the bar, the keys to the conversation being one speaking in an accent specific to the Tohoku region, and both men often mentioning the proper name "Kameda". In the ebbs and flows of the investigation, and Yoshimura being taken off the case in a lull to focus on other more active cases, both investigators nonetheless end up with a dogged determination which takes mostly Imanishi to various places throughout Japan in following leads, some on his own dime in being unofficial. The investigation only becomes more confusing in discovering the identity of the victim, what the investigators are told by those that knew him being his general benevolence in all aspects of his life, and that he had no business in Tokyo. The secondary story concerns renowned up and coming composer/conductor Eiryo Waga, his fame which means that he is often surrounded by an entourage. His general sullenness may be attributed to a childhood denied, that denial of which he is the only person who knows, or so he believes. Written by Huggo

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Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • 砂の器 (Japan, Japanese title)
  • The Castle of Sand (United States)
  • The Castle of Sand (United Kingdom)
  • Le vase de sable (France)
  • Zerbrechliches Schicksal (Germany)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 143 min
Country
Language
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Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia Seichô Matsumoto once said he preferred this movie, based on his novel, over said novel. See more »
Movie Connections Referenced in Sayonara eiga no furusato: Ofuna satsueijo (2000). See more »

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