Drama

Suzaku

Depicts the life of a family in a remote Japanese timber village. Family head Tahara Kozo lives with his mother Sachiko, wife Yasuyo, nephew Eisuke and young daughter Michiru. Economic recession and failed development plans cause tragedy in the family.

Release Date : 1997-11-01

Language :Japanese

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Bandai VisualWOWOW

Production Country : Japan

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Kozo Tahara

Original Name : 國村隼

Gender : Male

Character Name : Michiru Tahara

Original Name : 尾野真千子

Gender : Female

Character Name : Eisuke

Original Name : Kotaro Shibata

Gender : Male

Character Name : Yasuyo

Original Name : Yasuyo Kamimura

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sachiko

Original Name : Sachiko Izumi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Eisuke

Original Name : Kazufumi Mukohira

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Michiru

Original Name : 山口紗弥加

Gender : Female

Reviews

badelf

@badelf

2021-12-27

I interpret this film as a slow, meditative thesis on the wabi-sabi of generational change. Like the fleeting cherry blossoms, the Japanese have reverence and respect for impermanence and imperfection. In the middle of the film, we heard an older man ask "How will our young find someone to marry (if the railroad is not built)?" Everyone is aware of the traditional village dissolving, yet only Kozo is unable to live with this. He disappears. Yasuyo moves away taking Machiko with her. Eisuke, who was, and still is, afraid of the ghosts in the tunnel (the past?) decides to remain in the village, perhaps only because the tradition of living with family still resides in him. We in the Western world do not seem to appreciate the trajectory of change in our own culture. Even viewed through the lens of our contemporary ADD, this film is good.