Hana yori mo naho (2006)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Writer:

Hirokazu Koreeda (written by)

Release Date:

6 May 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Revenge | 18th Century | Japan

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Junichi 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
Ryuuhei Ueshima	...	Otokichi
Yûichi Kimura	...	Magosaburo
Seiji Chihara	...	Tomekichi
Ryo Kase	...	Sodekichi

Also Known As:

Hana (International: English title)

Runtime:

Japan:127 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Hana Film Partners

Flipside of the 47 Ronin

The subtext of this novel, entertaining period film comes from a unique treatment of the famed story of the 47 Ronin (itself the source for history texts, dramas, movies, and plays). Instead of showing the flowering of the Japanese spirit of revenge, HANA YORI MO NAHO takes a more pacifist point of view. In fact, for many of the characters, the main virtue of revenge may lie in its commercial exploitation; for the remainder of the cast - nearly all of them living in a dusty slum on the outskirts of town - revenge breaks apart families, instills instinctual hatred, and only promises generations of promise unrealized.

The screenplay is understated and loosely plotted. relying for the most part on light comedy to given texture to its potentially tragic subject matter. The story of the 47 Ronin has been told too often without offering any background on the common people hidden in the background. Sometimes ignoble, it's the people who rise above the violence who seem to have achieved something great - like the failed samurai who ignores his father's dying request to kill a rival.

The film's visuals are dusty and dirty, but always arresting,helping to make for a realistic but appealing narrative. All in all, HANA YORI MO NAHO is a much needed corrective on an oft- told story.