Our Homeland (かぞくのくに, Kazoku no kuni) is a 2012 Japanese drama film about a Korean man's visit to his family in Japan after a long exile in North Korea. This is the feature debut of Yang Yong-hi, a second-generation ethnic Korean living in Japan who based the film on her family history.[1][2][3][4] The film was selected as the Japanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.[5][6]
| Our Homeland | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Yang Yong-hi |
| Written by | Yang Yong-hi |
| Produced by | Koshikawa Michio Sato Junko Kawamura Mitsunobu |
| Starring | Sakura Ando Arata Iura |
| Cinematography | Toda Yoshihisa |
| Edited by | Kikui Takashige |
| Music by | Taro Iwashiro |
| Distributed by | Star Sands Slow Learner |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Plot
editFrom the late 1950s and into the 1970s, more than 90,000 of the Korean residents in Japan emigrated to North Korea, a country that promised them affluence, justice and an end to discrimination. Our Homeland tells the story of one of their number, who returns for just a short period. Yoon Seong-ho (Arata Iura) was sent to North Korea as a teen by his fervently North-supporting father. Returning to Tokyo for medical treatment after 25 years, he finds it difficult to open up to his family, including his passionately anti-North sister Rie (Sakura Ando). Seong-ho and Rie are two people handed radically different life perspectives by the course of history. While Seong-ho's path is sketched out for him, Rie recognizes that a whole world of opportunities is open to her. Including the chance to rebel against her own family.[7][8]
Cast
edit- Arata Iura as Yoon Seong-ho
- Sakura Ando as Rie
- Yang Ik-june as Yang, Seong-ho's minder
- Kotomi Kyôno as Suni
- Masane Tsukayama as Seong-ho's father
- Miyazaki Yoshiko as Seong-ho's mother
- Suwa Taro as Tejo, Seong-ho's uncle
- Suzuki Shinsuke
- Tatsushi Ōmori as Hongi
- Jun Murakami as Juno
- Shogo as Chori
- Yamada Maho
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "'Our Homeland' director testifies about tragedy of ethnic Koreans in Japan". The Korea Times. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ^ Park, Eun-jee (12 October 2012). "'Our Homeland' a story of repatriation, reunion". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Kim, Sam (6 October 2012). "Film shows family torn by NKorea-Japan program". Associated Press via Yahoo!. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ Schilling, Mark (28 December 2012). "Japan's female directors make a strong showing". The Japan Times. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ Schilling, Mark (4 September 2012). "Japan picks 'Our Homeland' as foreign language Oscar entry". Variety. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ Karasaki, Taro (14 September 2012). "Drama on ethnic Koreans' plight selected for showing at Oscars". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ "Kazoku no kuni". Berlinale. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ Elley, Derek (12 February 2013). "Our Homeland". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
External links
edit- Our Homeland at IMDb