Yoji YAMADA 山田洋次
The Twilight Samurai
たそがれ清兵衛
Nippon Cinema ª
Seibei Iguchi is a low-ranking samurai who lives a poor life caring for his two little daughters. One day, he meets Tomoe, his childhood friend, who is threatened by her ex-husband. An unavoidable duel ensues, after which the word of Seibei’s victory gets around. Soon Seibei finds himself ordered to slay a Samurai named Yogo, an order which Seibei unwillingly accepts. But the encounter with Yogo takes an unexpected turn.
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The Twilight Samurai (NC 2009)
たそがれ清兵衛
Tasogare seibei
Japan 2002
129 minutes
Director
Yoji YAMADA
Script
Yoji YAMADA, Yoshitaka ASAMA
Cinematography
Mutsuo NAGANUMA
Music
Isao TOMITA
Production
Shochiku
Distribution
Japanisches Kulturinstitut (The Japan Foundation)
Cast
Hiroyuki SANADA, Rie MIYAZAWA, Nenji KOBAYASHI, Ren OSUGI, Mitsuru FUKIKOSHI
About Yoji YAMADA
山田洋次
Yoji YAMADA, born in Osaka Prefecture in 1931, worked as an assistant director at the Shochiku production company after graduating from his law studies at Tokyo University. He made his directorial debut in 1961 with A STRANGER UPSTAIRS. In Japan, he is best known for the TORA-SAN series (1969–2019). With over 90 films and numerous awards to his credit, he is considered a grand master of Japanese cinema. In 2010, he received the Berlinale Camera for his life’s work. His films THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI (2002 / NC ’09) and NAGASAKI: MEMORIES OF MY SON (2015 / NC ’16) were both screened at Nippon Connection.