is a 2007 Japanese drama film written and directed by

Shinji Aoyama was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, film critic, and novelist. He graduated from Rikkyo University. He won two awards at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his film '' Eureka''. Biography Shinji Aoyama was born in Kitakyushu, ...

, adapted from his novel. Being third and last of Aoyama's "Kitakyushu Saga", Sad Vacation brings together several characters from his previous films Helpless and Eureka and continues to explore their lives, all the while being a separate story that doesn't require watching previous films. It was named after the

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...

song.

Plot

Kenji Shiraishi (

Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in '' Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in '' Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Ke ...

) is involved in trafficking of illegal immigrants from China to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. One of such cases leaves an immigrant child to be an orphan. Instead of selling him with others that arrived, Kenji flees with the boy to look after him and make an attempt at normal life. The people after the boy, unexpected encounter with long lost family members and his own vengeful nature are standing in a way of his future.

Cast

as Kenji Shiraishi *

Eri Ishida is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 9th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Chōchin'' and at the 13th Hochi Film Award for '' A Chaos of Flowers'', ''Hope and Pain'' and ''Wuthering Heights''. Filmography Fil ...

as Chiyoko Mamiya *

Aoi Miyazaki is a Japanese actress. She is known for her roles in '' Nana'' and '' Virgin Snow''. Career Miyazaki started working in the entertainment industry at the age of four. Initially she appeared mostly in commercials, magazine advertisements, and ...

as Kozue Tamura * Yuka Itaya as Saeko Shiina *

Katsuo Nakamura is a Japanese actor. Nakamura is a former Kabuki actor as well as his older brother Kinnosuke Nakamura. His first film appearance was in the 1955 film ''Furisode Kenpo''. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 5th Japan Academy Priz ...

as Shigeki Mamiya *

Kengo Kora is a Japanese actor. Career Kora has gained recognition for his roles in films such as Shinji Aoyama's '' Sad Vacation'', Yukio Ninagawa's '' Snakes and Earrings'', Tran Anh Hung's '' Norwegian Wood'', Ryuichi Hiroki's ''The Egoists'', Yoshi ...

as Yusuke Mamiya * Kaori Tsuji as Yuri Matsumura *

Joe Odagiri , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor and musician. Personal life Joe Odagiri was born in Tsuyama, Okayama prefecture. Though he was accepted by Kochi University, he turned it down for an opportunity to study in the United States ...

as Goto * Ken Mitsuishi as Shigeo * Yoichiro Saito as Akihiko *

Maho Toyota (born July 6, 1967) is a Japanese actress and model. She is frequently seen on television, where she has acted in over 100 serial dramas and television movies. She was the wife of the film director Shinji Aoyama. She co-starred in his film ''De ...

as Makimura * Kōsuke Toyohara as Kawashima * Kyūsaku Shimada as Sone * Yusuke Kawazu as Kijima

Reception

Travis Mackenzie Hoover of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' gave the film a favorable review, saying: "While the film is a tad on the nose with some of its dialogue (and has a magic-realist coda totally out of character with the rest of the movie), mostly the approach is singular, uncompromising and strangely affirmative in spite of it all." Todd Brown of ''

Twitch Film Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

'' described the film as "a quietly powerful drama in which Aoyama manages to address blood ties, fate and regeneration".

Awards

It won the Jury Award at the 2008

New York Asian Film Festival The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is a critically acclaimed film festival held in New York City, dedicated to the display of Asian Film Culture. The New York Asian Film Festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles ...

.NYAFF.com.
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References

External links

* * 2007 films 2000s Japanese-language films Films directed by Shinji Aoyama 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub