is a Japanese film directed by Masahiro Shinoda in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, about the Soviet spy Richard Sorge. Shinoda intended the film, a long and lavish production that had only modest critical and commercial success, as his final feature.

Plot

The film presents the life of Richard Sorge, a German spy for the

Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) Main Intelligence Directorate ( rus, Главное разведывательное управление, Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye, ˈglavnəjə rɐzˈvʲɛdɨvətʲɪlʲnəjə ʊprɐˈvlʲenʲɪjə), abbreviated GRU ( rus, ГР ...

of the Soviet Army in

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 ...

. Sorge and his contact Hotsumi Ozaki are arrested by the Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu (Special Higher Police) in Tokyo, and Sorge recounts the main events in flashbacks.

Cast

* Iain Glen : Richard Sorge * Masahiro Motoki : Hotsumi Ozaki * Kippei Shiina : Mitsusada Yoshikawa *

Takaya Kamikawa is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. Biography Kamikawa was born in Hachioji, Tokyo in 1965. He graduated from Hachioji-Kita high school in Tokyo. While studying economics in Chuo University, he acted in a minor theatrical group whi ...

: Tokko T * Toshiya Nagasawa : Miyagi Yotoku *

Riona Hazuki Riona Hazuki (葉月里緒奈 ''Hazuki Riona''), born Mai Yamada (山田麻衣 ''Yamada Mai'', born on July 11, 1975, in Tokyo, Japan), is a Japanese actress. In 1999, she played the main role in Owls' Castle. Selected filmography Dramas ...

: Hanako Miyake *

Koyuki , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese model and actress. She rose to fame in the drama '' Kimi wa Petto'' with Jun Matsumoto and gained huge popularity, as well as the hit film ''The Last Samurai''. Career Actor career Koyuki appeared ...

: Yoshiko Yamazaki * Armin Marewski : Branko Vukelic * Yui Natsukawa : Hideko Ozaki * Takaaki Enoki : Duke Fumimaro Konoye *

Hideji Otaki Hideji (written: 秀治, 秀司 or ひで次) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese writer and playwright *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese actor {{given name Japane ...

: Duke Kinmochi Sai-onji *Michael Christian : Josef Albert Meisinger * Shima Iwashita : Mrs. Konoe * Ulrich Mühe : Eugen Ott *Wolfgang S. Zechmayer :

Max Christiansen-Clausen Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

*Mia Yu : Agnes Smedley * Hanayagi Juraku : Emperor Hirohito *

Maro Akaji Maro may refer to: People * Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro; 70 BC–19 BC), ancient Roman poet * Maro (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname Maro * Mark Rosewater (born 1967), American television writer and ''Magic: The ...

Sugiyama Hajime was a Japanese field marshal and one of the leaders of Japan's military throughout most of World War II. As Army Minister in 1937, Sugiyama was a driving force behind the launch of hostilities against China in retaliation for the Marco Polo Br ...

* Mitsuru Fukikoshi : Saionji Kenkazu * Shingo Tsurumi : Ushiba Tomohiko * Dō Haraguchi :

Shigeru Honjō General Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the early period of the Second Sino-Japanese War. He was considered an ardent follower of Sadao Araki's doctrines. Biography Honjō was born into a farming family in Hyōgo prefect ...

* Naoto Takenaka : Hideki Tojo *Tsuruoka Daijirō : Yasuhide Kurihara *Youichi Okamura : Taketora Ogata *Tatsu Kaneko : Takahashi Korekiyo *Marek Wlodarczyk : Yan Karlovich Berzin *Jurij Rosstalnyi : Semyon Uritsky *Robert Mika : Lavrentiy Beria *Peter Borchert : Joseph Stalin

Technical details

*Writers: Robert Mandy & Masahiro Shinoda *Producers :

Masato Hara Masato (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Masato (kickboxer) (born 1979), Japanese former welterweight kickboxer, won K-1 WORLD MAX kickboxing tournament in 2003, 2008 *Masato A ...

Masaru Koibuchi is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Masaru can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *勝, "excel" *優, "excel" *大, "large" *将 or 將, "commander" The name can also be written in hiragana or katakan ...

& Peter Rawley for

Asmik Ace Entertainment , formerly is a Japanese film production and distribution company. In the past, the company has distributed video games. It was formed in 1997 through a merger between the Asmik Corporation and Ace Entertainment, both of Japan. The name Asmik ...

& Manfred Durniok Filmproduktion *Music : Shin’ichirō Ikebe *Photography : Tatsuo Suzuki *Length: Japan : 182 min *Country: Japan / Germany *Language: Japanese *Colour: Colour *Sound: Dolby Digital

Honours

*Best Art Direction for Hajime Oikawa at the Awards of the Japanese Academy in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

* Also nominated at the same awards in the following categories: **Best Cinematography for Tatsuo Suzuki **Best Director for Masahiro Shinoda **Best Editing for

Hiroshi Okuda Hiroshi Okuda (奥田碩 ''Okuda Hiroshi''; born December 29, 1932 in Mie Prefecture), is the former chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation from 1999 to 2006. Overview He became president of Toyota in 1995 and has worked at the corporatio ...

**Best Film **Best Lighting for

Hideshi Mikami Hideshi (written: 秀士, 秀司 or 日出志) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese businessman *, Japanese archaeologist *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese racing driver {{given name Japanese ...

**Best Music Score for Shin’ichirō Ikebe **Best Screenplay for Masahiro Shinoda and Robert Mandy **Best Sound for Tetsuo Segawa

References

External links

* 2003 films 2000s biographical films 2000s spy films Japanese biographical films World War II spy films World War II films based on actual events 2000s Japanese films {{bio-film-stub