After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, fourteen-year-old Kikuo is taken in by a renowned Kabuki actor and introduced to the demanding world of traditional theatre. Growing up alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, the two boys devote their lives to the stage - training, performing, and competing as their bond shifts between brotherhood and rivalry.

Spanning decades of ambition, scandals, loyalty, and betrayal, Kokuho traces the extraordinary journey of two performers chasing greatness, as one rises to become a legendary master of Kabuki. The highest-grossing live-action film of all time in Japan and an Academy Award nominee, the film is an epic portrait of artistry, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of perfection.

The Garden Cinema View;

A sensation in Japan, where it became the highest grossing live action domestic film of all time last year (and second only to Titanic including Hollywood films), Kokuho finally arrives in UK cinemas in all its theatrical glory.

This is a true epic, and an unashamed melodrama. Indeed the story of rival actors will hold few surprises for fans of classic backstage movies such as A Star is Born or All About Eve. That being said, there is something impressive about the sweep of Kokuho and director Lee Sang-il’s commitment the big emotional moments.

But it’s the Kabuki sequences where Kokuho comes alive. Classical theatre has inspired some of Japan’s great filmmakers: Kurosawa in Ran and other Throne of Blood, Kon Ichikawa’s devilish Kabuki-giallo An Actor’s Revenge, and the surreal Brechtian experiments of Masahiro Shinoda in Double Suicide and Himiko. No filmmaker has explored the stagecraft, costumes, makeup, and performance strain in the depth that Lee does here. The plays we see bring us up close to the sweat and pain of the actors, but also lift us to ecstatic artistic heights. These are remarkable scenes that make this long journey worth your time.

Cast:
Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, Mitsuki Takahata, Ken Watanabe, Takahiro Miura