Hana (2006)

A troubled young samurai seeks revenge for the death of his father.

Director:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Writer:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Stars:

Jun'ichi Okada, Rie Miyazawa, Arata Furuta

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jun'ichi Okada	...	Aoki Souzaemon aka 'Soza'
Rie Miyazawa	...	Osae
Arata Furuta	...	Sadashiro
Jun Kunimura	...	Isekan
Katsuo Nakamura	...	Shigehachi
Tadanobu Asano	...	Jubei Kanazawa
Yoshio Harada	...	Junai Onodera
Teruyuki Kagawa	...	Jirozaemon Hirano
Tomoko Tabata	...	Onobu
Yui Natsukawa	...	Oryo
Renji Ishibashi	...	Shozaburo Aoki
Ryûhei Ueshima	...	Otokichi
Yûichi Kimura	...	Magosaburo
Seiji Chihara	...	Tomekichi
Ryô Kase	...	Sodekichi

Storyline

In 1702, set against the backdrop of a long-delayed and insatiable revenge, a reserved samurai, Aoki Sozaemon, leaves his hometown in Matsumoto to come to bustling Edo in search of his father's killer. Unaccomplished as a swordsman, with his funds quickly drying up, Sozaemon must honour his clan's demand to avenge a disgraceful death, however, when he finally finds his target, he will have to make a difficult decision before a crushing dilemma. Is the way of the samurai stronger than the way of the heart?

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | revenge | 18th century | japan | 

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Taglines:

To Kill or Not to Kill, That is the Question.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [South Korea]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 May 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hana: The Tale of a Reluctant Samurai

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$566,097

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Light and enjoyable

This film was produced by Shochiku, a studio that I'm told is renowned for it's middle-of-the-road part-comedy/part-pathos films. Hana fits squarely in that territory and is Kore-eda's most commercial film to date.

Set in the slums of 1702 Edo (now Tokyo), the cinematography and attention to period detail were excellent. The story itself is fairly lame. A young samurai, incompetent with a sword seeks revenge for his father's death, but finds himself unable to carry out the act.

There's no doubting the competence of the director and the film's visuals are a joy to behold. It's not something that particularly engages me, but is the sort of film I would love to take my six year old son to. The blend of humour and almost slapstick action would certainly be enjoyed by him. Mind you, this is not really a children's film, even though it has the appeal of a Japanese version of a Disney film. Many adults would enjoy it, but it's not my thing.