Synopsis
THE RIVER WITH NO BRIDGE begins in 1908 and tells the story of a widow, Fude HATANAKA and her two sons, Seitaro and Koji, who live in the small town of Komori, where Buraku people are forced to reside.
The two boys are continuously harassed by their teachers and classmates through their childhood as a result of their Buraku heritage.
In the midst of the 1918 Great Rice Riots in Osaka, Seitaro meets with Asako, the daughter of a rice shop owner, and falls in love with her. She too is of Buraku descent.
At the same period, Hideaki, an old friend of the brothers returns to Komori, and he along with Koji and the townspeople create "Zenkoku Suiheisha", the National Levelers Association, an organization pledged to build a bridge over the river of discrimination, making all people equal in every way.
Staff & Cast
STAFF
- Directed by Yoichi HIGASHI
- Scriptwrite by Yoichi HIGASHI and Soo-KiI KIM
- Based on the noveI "The River With No Bridge" by Sue SUMII
- Director of Photography by Koichi KAWAKAMI
- Art Direction by Akira NAITO
- Music Composer：Ernesto CAVOUR
- Sound Mixer：Yukio KUBOTA
- Lighting by Hidenori ISOZAKI
- Editor：Osamu INOUE
- Produced by THE SEIYU LTD and GALERIA
- Running Time 139 minutes
Cast
- Naoko OTANI as Fude HATANAKA, Seitaro and Koji's mother
- Tamao NAKAMURA as Nui HATANAKA, Seitaro and Koji's grandmother
- Tetsuta SUGIMOTO as Seitaro HATANAKA, the elder brother
- Atsuro WATABE as Koji HATANAKA, the younger brother
- Hiroko NAKAJIMA as Asako YASUI, Seitaro's wife
- Ai YASUNAGA as Machie SUGIMOTO, Koji's classmate
- Etsushi TAKAHASHI as Munenori ISEDA, Fude's Iover
- Saki TAKAOKA as Nanae MINEMURA, Seitaro and Koji's cousin
- Some titles in English are non official translations.
- Special thanks to Max TESSIER