Operetta tanuki goten (2005)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Seijun Suzuki

Writer:

Yoshio Urasawa (writer)

Release Date:

28 May 2005 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

Plot:

Amechiyo (The banished prince) falls in love with Tanukihime (a princess of raccoon dog disguised to human). This is an Operetta which includes comedy, singing and dancing, and a love story.

Plot Keywords:

Raccoon | Love | Frog | Dancing | Singing

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Ziyi Zhang	...	Tanukihime
Jô Odagiri	...	Amechiyo
Hiroko Yakushimaru	...	Ohagi no tsubone
Mikijiro Hira	...	Azuchi Momoyama
Taro Yamamoto
Gentaro Takahashi
Saori Yuki
Miwako Ichikawa
Hibari Misora	...	CG appearance
Eisuke Sasai
Papaiya Suzuki
Taro Nanshu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Federico Aletta	...	Nan-bannjin (painter)

Also Known As:

Princess Raccoon (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title) (UK)

Runtime:

Japan:111 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:PG | South Korea:15

Company:

Ogura Jimusyo Co.

Trivia:

Ziyi Zhang spent half a month in Japan training in dance and voice. While her speaking part is in Chinese, she sings in both Chinese and Japanese.

Soundtrack:

omoi Shita ri masu na

Combination of avant garde theater, video art and opera

Maverick director Seijun Suzuki finally was able to film his dream project, "Princess Raccoon" and in a way it's lucky he didn't try this in the 1960's. Special effects and computer graphics certain made this sort of production easier to achieve than the old film matte technology would have.

Some familiarity with Japanese history and theatrical traditions will help with the enjoyment of this film. Much as familiarity with Shakespeare's "The Tempest" would help with Peter Greenaway's dense "Prospero's Books". These two films actually have a bit in common although, "Princess Raccoon" is much more colorful and easier to watch for someone without the background to fully appreciate it.

While the art design, acting and direction are fine for most of the film, it seems to this viewer that the energy runs out in the last third of the film. Most of the interesting sets have been already been introduced and the camera seems to step back for more of a filmed stage play experience.

This is certainly a unique film experience and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in alternate forms of film performance. It's not really meant for children although nothing happens that would upset them. If the last third was better I would have given it nine stars.