Synopsis
Village of Dreams is based on the book of essays The Village of My Paintings, written by Seizo TASHIMA. He and his older brother Yukihiko TASHIMA are Identical twin brothers and award-winning picture book artists. They each have uniquely different styles, but share inspiration for their work in their childhood experiences in rural Japan.
Their drawings sweep us back to 1948, to a rustic hamlet in the countryside of Kochi. The twins are in third grade; they love to draw but are also known as infamous brats in the neighborhood for the pranks they play, and they encounter various shades of life in their everyday experiences.
Yoichi HIGASHI and Takehiro NAKAJIMA adapted the story into a narratibe screenplay liberally. The script vividly captures the children's encounters with the many living creatures around them, natural and supernatural, filling the story with legend and imagination. The three old woman who appear in the film were inspired by the witches in Macbeth, but are portrayed uniquely as traditional Japanese figures. Emphasizing realism, great care was taken to ensure that all dialogue in the film observed the local dialect to slightest detail.
Staff & Cast
STAFF
- Based on The Village of My Paintings by Seizo TASHIMA courtesy of Kumon Publishing CorporationLtd.
- Directed by Yoichi HIGASHI
- Screenplay by Yoichi HIGASHI and Takehiro NAKAJIMA
- Music by the Caterina Ancient Music Ensemble
- Cinematography by Yoshio SHIMIZU
- Art direction by Akira NAITO
- Set decoration by Shoichi YASUDA
- Lighting by Hiromichi TAKEYAMA
- Recording by Hiroshi TSURUMAKI
- Assistant Director: Satoshi ISAKA
- Produced by Tetsujiro YAMAGAMI and Koshiro SHO
- Sponsored by Japan Art Fund
Cast
- Keigo MATSUYAMA as Seizo
- Shogo MATSUYAMA as Yukihiko
- Mieko HARADA as TASHIMA Mizue
- Kyozo NAGATSUKA as TASHIMA Kenzo
- Hosei KOMATSU as Jimma
- Kaneko IWASAKI as Toshie
- Tokuko SUGIYAMA as Ushibamba
- Koichi UEDA as the Principal
- Mizuki MAMADA as Ikuko
- Takehiro NAKAJIMA as the Mayor
- Yukihiko TASHIMA as himselfe
- Hideko TASHlMA as herself
- Seizo TASHIMA as himself