is a 2012 Japanese drama film directed by

Masayuki Suo Masayuki (written: , ,, , , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese animator and director *, Japanese actor *, Japanese baseball player and manager *, Japanese politician *, ...

and starring Tamiyo Kusakari,

Kōji Yakusho , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor. He is well known for his starring roles in ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996), ''Cure'' (1997), ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005), '' 13 Assassins'' (2010), ''The Third Murder'' (2017), '' The Blood of Wolv ...

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 ...

and

Takao Osawa is a Japanese actor. Career Osawa starred in the 2002 film ''Filament'' and the 2007 film ''Midnight Eagle''. He has also appeared in films such as Masayuki Suo's ''A Terminal Trust'' and Takashi Miike's ''Shield of Straw''. The Newport Beach F ...

. It is Suo's first fiction film since ''

I Just Didn't Do It is a 2007 Japanese film directed by Masayuki Suo, starring Ryo Kase, Asaka Seto and Kōji Yakusho. Plot Based on a true story, the film is the story of a young man charged with groping on a train. Following the events depicted in the film, w ...

'' (2007).

Cast

* Tamiyo Kusakari as Ayano Orii *

as Shinzo Egi *

as Takai *

as Tsukahara * Yoshihiko Hosoda

Release

The film premiered at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

in September 2012 and screened in the Special Screening section at the

25th Tokyo International Film Festival The 25th annual Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) was held from October 20 to October 28, 2012. Official selection Competition Special screenings †: 12 minutes Winds of Asia-Middle East †: Nominated for "Best Asian-Middl ...

in October 2012.

Reception

Mark Schilling of ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

'' said, "Expect something thoughtful, informed — and utterly unlike the usual sob-fest Japanese medical melodrama." James Hadfield of '' Time Out'' said, "Trust director

to reunite the stars of his most popular film for a cheery romantic drama about assisted dying. '' Shall We Dance?'' leads Tamiyo Kusakari and

play a doctor and her terminally ill patient, with a support cast including

and

." Hugo Ozman 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 thought-provoking film that will please viewers who like serious dramas" and "a beautiful film with deep meanings and some of the best performances in a Japanese film this year." However, John Defore of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' said, "It's understandable Suo would want to give so much screen time to the highly sympathetic Yakusho, but doing so doesn't serve the dramatic structure of a film that might've been much more provocative than it is."

References

External links

Official website
* 2012 films Films directed by Masayuki Suo Japanese drama films Japanese romance films 2010s Japanese films {{2010s-Japan-film-stub