Release Date

August, 7th, 2004

Running Time

141 min

Genre

Feature

Color

Color

Screening Format

35mm

Screen Size

-

Sound Processing

-

[ Directed by ]

• KORE-EDA Hirokazu

[ Produced by ]

• SHIGENOBU Yutaka
• KAWASHIRO Kazumi

[ Cast ]

• YAGIRA Yuya ── Akira
• KITAURA Ayu ── Kyoko
• KIMURA Hiei ── Shigeru
• SHIMIZU Momoko ── Yuki
• YOU ── Keiko

[ Staff ]

• KORE-EDA Hirokazu ── Screenplay
• KORE-EDA Hirokazu ── Editor
• YAMAZAKI Yutaka ── Cinematography
• TSURUMAKI Yutaka ── Sound

[ Production Company ]

TV MAN UNION, BANDAI VISUAL, ENGINE FILM, c-style, CINE QUA NON

[ Story ]

A mother (YOU) smuggles her four young children into their new home in an apartment complex. Each has a different father, and none of them go to school. One day, she announces that she has to leave for a while and puts the oldest boy, Akira (Yagira Yuya, Best Actor Award winner at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival), in charge. The kids are left to their own devices with only each other to rely on and avoid venturing outside in fear of being separated by welfare authorities. Akira does his best to scrounge food and water from the local neighborhood, but longs to make friends with other children his age. Adults turn a blind eye and offer little or no assistance. The children's only outside ally is a young girl who befriends Akira. As time passes, their mother shows no sign of coming back, the money she has left them gradually dwindles away, and their survival becomes ever more uncertain.
An emotionally charged work of social realism from acclaimed filmmaker Kore-Eda Hirokazu (After Life, Distance).

[ Contact (International) ]

Celluloid Dreams （World Sales）
2 rue Turgot, 75009 Paris, France
tel: +33 1 4970 0370
fax: +33 1 4970 0371
E-mail: info@celluloid-dreams.com , accounting@celluloid-dreams.com
http://www.celluloid-dreams.com

TV MAN UNION, INC. (Japan)
Cosmos Aoyama, 5-53-67 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001
tel: +81 3 6418 8700
fax: +81 3 6418 8747
E-mail: union_film@tvu.co.jp , jigyo_suishin@tvu.co.jp