Shohei Tanaka

Kore-eda'nın Hana'dan sonra çektiği son filmi, bir yaz günü düğümlenen, neşeyle hüznün ustaca dengelendiği bir aile dramı. Artık yaşı kemale eren bir çiftin oğluyla kızı çocuklarını ve eşlerini de yanlarına alıp aile ocağına gelirler. Ailenin en büyük oğlunun ölüm yıldönümüdür. Her ailede olduğu gibi, dargınlıklar ve sırlar yüzünden araları açılan aile üyeleri arasında halen bir sevgi bağı vardır. Ozu'nun başyapıtı Tokyo Hikâyesi'ni hatırlatan Bitmeyen Yürüyüş, aile bağlarının kıymetli olduğu kadar sinir bozucu da olabileceğini gözler önüne seriyor.

Joji Matsuoka'nın filmi Masaya adlı çocuğun yetişkinliğe uzanan hayatında ayrılan anne ve babasından, üniversite yıllarına ve sonrasında da iş ve sanat (çizer) hayatına, aşklarına, dostlarına kadar uzanan bir çerçevede nefis bir dram kurgusuyla karşımıza çıkıyor. Kendi mazinizden içinizi sızlatacak acı-tatlı anlara uzanacağınız, yaşamın ve ölümün de her an yanıbaşımızda olduğunu hatırlatan doğal ve sıcak bir hikaye * Japon Akademi Ödülü, "En İyi Film Ödülü" başta olmak üzere toplam 5 dalda ödül kazanmıştır.

In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.

Shuichi Furukawa receives a phone call from his mother. She reminds him that they are moving the next day. The following day, Shuichi takes a train ride back to his hometown. He arrives at his parents home, but nobody is home. He looks for the house key under a potted plant but can't find the key. He starts to thinks back to his childhood days in his parents home. Shuichi grew up with his younger brother, older sister, father who ran a shoe making business out of their garage and mother. Shuichi grew up with a crush on an older woman who lived next door and he loved to make piggy banks out of empty whiskey bottles. One day on a school picnic, Shuichi's classmates grabbed a lunchbox from a fellow student and eventually gave the lunch box to Shuichi. All the other students chanted "throw it away," while Shuichi's former friend looked on in despair.

Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and three, each with 4 episodes, were broadcast in late 2010 and 2011. While most episodes were shot in Japan, one of the episodes in series two was shot in Latvia. The TV series is based on the novel Saka no ue no kumo by Ryōtarō Shiba and adopted by Hisashi Nozawa. The theme song of the drama series is titled "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi, written by Kundo Koyama and performed by British soprano singer Sarah Brightman.