Kokuho

The latest from Hollywood on the Potomac.

“I’m deeply, deeply honored to welcome you tonight to our special screening of KOKUHO. It’s a stunning, powerful record setting sensation. It’s traveling from cinemas in Japan to cinemas near you in the very near future. KOKUHO is already the highest grossing live action Japanese film ever. Two weeks ago it was nominated for an Oscar and you’re among the first to see it before it gets released in North America. So you have bragging rights to tell all your friends,” said Amb. Charles Rivkin, CEO of The Motion Picture Association at the film’s special screening, co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan.

“When my friend Ambassador Shigeo Yamada and the team at the Japanese Embassy approached us about partnering on this fantastic film, we immediately said yes,” he added, “because this event is more than viewing a single title, it’s about what one of its stars - the brilliant Ken Watanabe - said. ‘This reminds the audience of the joy of watching a movie on the big screen, and it’s about paying tribute to the longstanding cultural, economic and political ties between the United States and Japan, the close cooperation between our two countries’ creative industries, our people’s shared love of incredible storytelling that inspires the entertainment fans in both nations with hits like Demon Slayer and so much more.’ KOKUHO truly embodies what makes any movie a critical success, commercial juggernaut and a cultural touch point, matching a visionary director and a brilliant idea with a stellar cast and crew and bringing to life an author’s stirring narrative and a screenwriter’s brilliant genius script. This film is such a massive phenomenon that none other than Tom Cruise hosted a special screening a couple months ago in Los Angeles and Tom Cruise called this work and I quote, ‘An elegant and effortless coordination of talented young actors, great music, composition, cinematography, production, design, and wardrobe.’ A story Cruise said that pulls us into the beautiful cultural experience that one we can all identify with.”

“But this film KOKUHO tells an entirely different story,” added Amb.Yamada. “It tells about an outsider who comes into this world of Kabuki and also this film captures very well the extraordinary discipline and sacrifice and skills required to master this art of Kabuki. Actually, even the actors you will see in the film, they train for a year and a half just to make sure that they can convey authentically the depth and nuance of the art of Kabuki.”