''Blue'' is a 2002 Japanese

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by Hiroshi Ando based on the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

of the same name by Kiriko Nananan. The film stars

Mikako Ichikawa is a Japanese actress and Model (person), model from Tokyo, Japan. Her older sister is the actress and model Miwako Ichikawa. Biography Due to her older sister being in the modeling business, Ichikawa made several appearances in the fashion ma ...

as Kayako Kirishima and

Manami Konishi , also known as KONI-TAN, is a Japanese actress, singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Career Konishi appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2006 film '' Retribution'', which was screened at the 63rd Venice Film Festival. She also appeared i ...

as Masami Endo. The film was first shown at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

in 2002, and was released in Japanese theaters in 2003. The film is about two teenage girls, Kayako Kirishima and Masami Endō, who find their friendship turning into something more.

Plot

Kayako Kirishima, in her third year at a high school, feels a sense of isolation in school life and vague admiration and uneasiness about the future. One day she makes friends with Endō, who is isolated from her surroundings because she remained in the same class for another year. Kayako is strongly attracted by Endō, who shows her a world that she didn't know.

Cast

as Kayako Kirishima *

as Masami Endō * Asami Imajuku as Mieko Nakano * Ayano Nakamura as Chika Watanabe *

Sosuke Takaoka is a Japanese former actor, known for his break-out performance in the controversial movie '' Battle Royale''. Career His break-out performance was in the controversial movie '' Battle Royale'', in which he played the pacifistic Hiroki Sugimur ...

as Mizuuchi Manabu *

Jun Murakami is a Japanese actor. Career Murakami starred in Sho Miyake's ''Playback'' (2012). He co-starred in Sion Sono's '' The Land of Hope'' (2012) with Megumi Kagurazaka. He has also appeared in films such as Takahisa Zeze's '' Heaven's Story'' an ...

as Older man

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film impressive but overlong.

Awards

24th Moscow International Film Festival The 24th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 21 to 30 June 2002. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Italian-French film ''Resurrection (2001 film), Resurrection'' directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. Jury * Chinghiz Aitmato ...

: Best Actress Prize (Mikako Ichikawa)

Location

* Niigata ** Bandai Bridge **

Furumachi , literally meaning "Old Town", is the name of a central business district in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The district is centered on Furumachi-dori street and extends north to Honcho-dori street and south to Nishibori-dori street. F ...

Niigata Station is a major railway station in Chūō-ku, Niigata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station is in the center of Niigata City, the largest city on the Sea of Japan coast in Honshu. It forms the central station for the ...

Takaoka, Toyama is a city in the northwestern portion of Toyama Prefecture, Japan. Takaoka has the second largest population after Toyama City, and the city is a center of western Toyama Prefecture (''Gosei''). , the city had an estimated population of 173,08 ...

References

External links

*
Blue Support Page
(archived)
Blue Cinema Topics
(archived) 2002 films Live-action films based on manga Films set in Japan 2000s Japanese-language films Lesbian-related films Japanese LGBTQ-related films 2002 romantic drama films LGBTQ-related romantic drama films 2002 LGBTQ-related films Japanese romantic drama films 2000s Japanese films Films scored by Otomo Yoshihide {{2000s-romantic-drama-film-stub