Picture Bride (1994)

Director:

Kayo Hatta

Writers:

Kayo Hatta (screenplay)
Kayo Hatta (story)

Release Date:

5 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

The story of 16-year-old Riyo who journeys to Hawaii in 1918 to marry a man she has never met, except...

Plot Keywords:

Hawaii | Japanese | Asian American | Arranged Marriage | Katana Sword

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Youki Kudoh	...	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 Capiña	...	Augusto
Peter Clark	...	Christian minister
Warren Fabro	...	Felipe
Michael Hasegawa	...	Immigration officer
Kyle Kakuno	...	Yamamoto
Moe Keale	...	Hawaiian fisherman
Kati Kuroda	...	Yayoi
Jessica Louie	...	Kei-chan
Natasha Mamiya	...	Kei-chan
Melvin Miranda	...	Miguel
Keiji Morita	...	Photographer
Hatsuko Otsuka	...	Fumi
Dawn Saito	...	Geisha
Riki Sugimoto	...	Gambler
Traci Toguchi	...	Uto

Also Known As:

Bijo photo (Japan)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sensuality.

Runtime:

95 min | 98 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Spain:T | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Waialua, O`ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Cecile Films

Quotes:

Matsuji: You're so lucky you got a nice country wife.
Kanzaki: [drunkenly] Kana too good for me. Every time she looks at me with those tired eyes, she makes me so mad. I feel like a failure.
Matsuji: I don't deserve Riyo, either. If we had stayed in Japan, we would still be miserable millet and barley farmers.
Kanzaki: [hitting Matsuji playfully] What kind of Japanese are you, to say that?
Matsuji: [laughing] I AM Japanese!

A Hidden Gem

This is a great film. From reading other reviews, I can see that I'm not the only one who shed a tear. Tamilyn Tomita acted with such skill and conviction, she made the ending heartfelt and memorable. In the hands of a lesser actress, her last scene would have seemed trite and corny. One would never guess this film was done on a tight, limited budget. The cinematography is gorgeous and there are a number of big name actors. The script is so wonderful, I can see why they all wanted to be in it. If you watch the long, long list of credits at the end, you'll see that half of Hawaii pitched in to make this film happen, and for good reason. The soundtrack (available on CD) is absolutely beautiful and sets the mood throughout the film. My only "complaint" is that I almost didn't want the film to end.