In Sang-Il Lee’s Kokuho, Kikuo (Ryo Yoshizawa) becomes an apprentice of Hanai Hanjiro II (Ken Watanabe) after the death of his father, training alongside the master Kabuki actor’s only son Shunsuke (Ryusei Yokohama) to learn the esteemed art. As Kikuo and Shunsuke grow and are presented with opportunities, the enduring nature of their friendship is tested.
Awards Buzz spoke with Sang-Il Lee about taking on this arduous subject, crafting a film that could run three hours and still remain interesting to audiences as a peek behind the curtain of a widely respected art form in Japan:
“In terms of something I was aware of, it’s that it’s been eighty years since a Kabuki film has been made in Japan. There are that few films about Kabuki. That was one thing, and I’m very happy that you said the word immersive, because I really focused on making this an immersive experience for a three-hour film for audiences so that they can really feel everything. I really used everything I had to make it happen.”
He also broke down the differences in how Kabuki is performed live on stage and how it’s simulated on screen in this film, emphasizing the fact that audiences get to see the real-life emotions of the actors, which would never happen in real life. He addressed the excitement behind this film being selected as Japan’s official submission for Best International Feature at the Oscars and considered whether he could find an even more ambitious project to tackle in the future.
Kokuho is currently playing in theaters.
