A work in constant progress (and occasional regress).
Release Date:
May 30, 1998
Original Title:
秘祭
Alternate Titles:
Hisai
Genres:
Drama
Production Companies:
Shinjo-Office
Production Countries:
Japan
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 103
Taku Shinjo spins this rural drama about ancient taboos and encroaching modernity. Takamine (Gitan Otsuru) is a big-city workaholic sent to a small remote island to seal a business deal. His predecessor almost managed to convince the island's 17 inhabitants to sell their stake and make way for a resort hotel -- that is, before he died under dubious circumstances. Takamine finds the islanders polite and kind but unwilling to discuss business; instead, they tell him to become an islander. So the city-slicker stuffed shirt loses his tie and starts to help the women plant and the men fish. He soon makes his acquaintance with Takako (Mitsuko Baisho), the widowed daughter of the island's chief. She lives alone with her crazed son who is kept Jane Eyre-style chained to a stake. One moon-lit night, their mutual attraction boils over, resulting in a naked, passionate roll on the beach.
Art Direction:
Hisao Inagaki
Assistant Director:
Takashi Inoue
Director:
Taku Shinjo
Director of Photography:
Tatsuo Suzuki
Editor:
Osamu Inoue
Executive Producer:
Taku Shinjo
Lighting Technician:
Hiroyuki Yasukouchi
Original Music Composer:
Sadao China
Original Story:
Shintarō Ishihara
Producer:
Masaaki Hiraoka
Hiroshi Ishiya
Screenplay:
Shintarō Ishihara
Sound Recordist:
Yukio Kubota
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