Himizu | |
---|---|
Directed by | Sion Sono |
Written by |
Minoru Furuya (manga) Sion Sono (screenplay) |
Produced by | Haruo Umekawa Masashi Yamazaki |
Starring |
Shōta Sometani Fumi Nikaidō |
Cinematography | Sohei Tanikawa |
Edited by | Jun'ichi Itô |
Music by | Tomohide Harada |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Gaga |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 130 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Himizu (ヒミズ) is 2011 Japanese drama film based on the manga series of the same name by Minoru Furuya [2] and directed by Sion Sono. [2] [3] The word himizu is the Japanese name for a species of mole. The film competed in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in September. [4] At the festival, Shōta Sometani and Fumi Nikaidō received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor and Actress for their work in the film. [5]
The director Sion Sono had already written the film's script when the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on 11 March 2011. [6] After this disaster, he decided to rewrite the script to adapt the film to this disaster. [6]
The lead stars of the film were officially announced on 10 June 2011. [7] The lead actor for the film is Shōta Sometani, who plays the role of Sumida, a 15-year-old who suffers from the violence that his father inflicted onto him. [6] Actress Fumi Nikaidō his co-star, plays Chazawa, a rich girl who is Sumida's classmate. [7]
Additional cast members of the film are Yōsuke Kubozuka, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Anne Suzuki and singer Takahiro Nishijima. [8] Actress Yoshitaka previously starred in the 2006 film Noriko's Dinner Table, [8] which was also directed by Sion Sono. [9] Nishijima is from the music group AAA, [8] and also previously starred in Sion Sono's 2009 award-winning film Love Exposure. [10]
Most of the filming took place at a special set in Ibaraki Prefecture during May 2011. [7]
Himizu currently holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [11] The film was a New York Times Critics' Pick, with Miriam Bale praising its sound design and noting Sono "uses sound, a low, grumbling noise like an earthquake, to convey [dystopian Japan]. He also gives the film a harrowing cacophony and a sense of trauma with sound effects, including subtle echoes." [12] Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film as being "fraught with brutal violence and needless repetition that draws out its two-hour running time" and added that the film "is still not an easy film to like". [6] However, the reviewer praised the ending of the film, which she describes as "achingly real" and "extraordinarily intense and effective". [6] She also praised the film's young leads Shōta Sometani and Fumi Nikaidō, who she said "grow in stature as the film progresses". [6]
Year | Award | Category | Result | Recipient |
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2011 | 68th Venice International Film Festival | Marcello Mastroianni Award | Won | Shōta Sometani and Fumi Nikaidō [5] |