Emotionally fiery and visually sumptuous - so visually sumptuous that it's in the running for an Oscar for Best Makeup - the Japanese box office smash is coming to Italy: first, accompanied by its director, to the 28th Far East Film Festival, and immediately afterwards, from 30 April, to the country's finest cinemas (under the banner of Tucker Film). We are of course talking about Kokuho, directed by Lee Sang-il (Hula Girls) and based on the monumental novel of the same name by Yoshida Shuichi.
International critics who saw Kokuho at the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes were unstinting in their praise ("A true feast for the eyes," "A simply magnificent film," "An incredible epic"), and it's a fact that Lee Sang-il didn't skimp on the stylistic and narrative grandeur, creating a story that takes in art, ambition, friendship, and love. A story fifty years long with the epic and majestic pace of a Farewell My Concubine or The Last Emperor.
The young son of a yakuza boss, Kikuo (Soya Kurokawa/Ryo Yoshizawa), makes a big impression when he performs a female kabuki role at a banquet in Nagasaki. Among the guests is kabuki actor Hanjiro Hanai (Ken Watanabe), who immediately recognizes the fourteen-year-old's talent. After the death of Kikuo's father, Hanjiro takes the boy in and moves with him to Osaka. There, Kikuo grows up alongside Hanjiro's son, Shunsuke (Keitatsu Koshiyama/Ryusei Yokohama). Despite their different backgrounds, the two form a strong friendship as they train together under Hanjiro's guidance. Only one of them, however, will become the greatest kabuki actor of his time...
"Kabuki," explains Lee Sang-il in his director's notes, "is a symbol of inestimable cultural value and is governed by the principle of lineage: the art is passed down from fathers to sons and then to grandchildren, to continue to ensure its status as a 'national treasure'. For the heirs, this represents a privilege but also a curse: they must continually demonstrate their talent and passion. They are constantly challenged and must outshine the talent of those who preceded them. In this closed and restricted ecosystem, actors take the stage with a predetermined destiny. And once on stage, they remain there until their last breath..."