Sekishun-cho
Farewell to Spring
(c)1959 Shochiku Co., Ltd.
(c)1959 Shochiku Co., Ltd.
- Release Date
- April, 28th, 1959
- Running Time
- 102 min
- Genre
- Feature
- Color
- Color
- Screening Format
- -
- Screen Size
- Cinema Scope (1:2.35)
[ Directed by ]
[ Produced by ]
[ Cast ]
- TSUGAWA Masahiko ── MAKITA Yasuo
- YAMAMOTO Toyozo ── MASUGI Akira
- KAWAZU Yusuke ── IWAGAKI Naoji
[ Staff ]
- KINOSHITA Keisuke ── Screenplay
- KUSUDA Hiroyuki ── Cinematography
- KINOSHITA Chuji ── Music
- UMEDA Chiyoo ── Art Direction
[ Production Company ]
Shochiku (Ofuna)
[ Distributor (Japan) ]
SHOCHIKU
[ Story ]
Five childhood best friends reunite early one spring in their hometown of Aizu-Wakamatsu, only to find themselves shaken by the discovery that they are not quite as similar as they once were. For this film focused on youth, Kinoshita called on a talented young cast plucked from his so-called "Kinoshita school," an appellation for recurring protégés who had honed their skills under the tutelage of the director himself. The film draws on the metaphor of the Byakkotai ("White Tiger Corps") – a group of teenage soldiers who met with a tragic fate during the 19th century Battle of Aizu – while also capturing delicately the intricacies of the young men's emotional state as, defeated by the passage of time, they are forced to bid farewell to the purity of their youth. The film's theme song, with lyrics penned by Kinoshita himself, projects a bracing yet poignant sensitivity onto the natural beauty of Aizu, imbuing the film's sense of time and place with a deep lyricism.
Written by KU Mina
Translated by Adam Sutherland
[ Contact (International) ]
SHOCHIKU CO., LTD.
International Sales & Licensing
Togeki Bldg., 4-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8422
tel: +81-3-5550-1623
fax: +81-3-5550-1654
E-mail: ibd@shochiku.co.jp
http://www.shochikufilms.com
