Movielogr

Rating: 6.5 stars

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Japan

All movies seen on 05/28/2013

View on: IMDb | TMDb

Princess Raccoon (2005)

Directed by Seijun Suzuki

Musical | Fantasy | Romance

Overview

Amechiyo (the banished prince) falls in love with Tanukihime (a princess of raccoon dog disguised as human). This is an operetta which includes comedy, singing and dancing, and a love story.

Length 111 minutes

Actors

Zhang Ziyi | Joe Odagiri | Hiroko Yakushimaru | Mikijiro Hira | Miwako Ichikawa | Taro Yamamoto | Eisuke Sasai | Saori Yuki | Hibari Misora | Papaya Suzuki | Federico Aletta | Gentaro Takahashi | Taro Nanshu | Akira Matsushita | Noriko Shiina

Viewing History (seen 2 times)

Viewing Notes

Yumi suggested picking up a couple DVDs at the library in case we had some time to watch. I really had no plan to watch any movies during our weekend in Napa Valley but they had this, which I wasn’t even aware of until I saw it on the shelf. A stage play musical directed by Seijun Suzuki starring a Hong Kong actress?! Okay, you got my interest.

I will say that having some knowledge and understanding of Japanese folklore and Noh or even Kabuki performance will make this more entertaining. Because that’s essentially what Suzuki has done, filmed a stage dance-drama almost exactly as it might appear in a Japanese theatre.

The story is relatively basic but feels overly complicated the way it’s told but that’s part of the presentation. Very interesting that Zhang Ziyi continues her dialogue in Mandarin while all other actors speak Japanese. Mostly found this quite fun but wish Joe Odagiri had a little more to do than react.

I’d recommend this for a very stylish peek at Japanese theatre, which isn’t often captured on film. Silly and melodramatic as you might expect from the real thing.

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