| Director: | Masaaki Yuasa |
|---|---|
| Production: | Asmik Ace (Fumie Takeuchi), Science SARU (Eunyong Choi) |
| Running Time: | 98’ |
| Language: | Japanese |
| Country: | Japan, China |
| Main Cast: | animation film / featuring the voices of Avu-Chan and Mirai Moriyama |
| Screenplay: | Akiko Nogi |
| Cinematographer: | Yoshihiro Sekiya |
| Editor: | Kiyoshi Hirose |
| Production Designer: | Hideki Nakamura |
| Music: | Yoshihide Otomo |
| Sound: | Eriko Kimura |
| Note: | based upon "Heike Monogatari Inu-Oh no Maki" by Hideo Furukawa |
|---|
Inu-Oh is born with unique physical characteristics, and the horrified adults cover every inch of his body with garments, including a mask on his face. One day, he meets a boy named Tomona, a blind biwa player, and as Tomona plays a delicate song of tangled fate, Inu-Oh discovers an incredible ability to dance. Inu-Oh and Tomona become business partners and inseparable friends, using their creative gifts to survive on the margins of society, as song after song gain them notoriety and propel them to stardom. Through the songs, Inu-Oh mesmerises his audiences on stage, and gradually begins to transform into someone of unequalled beauty. But why is Tomona blind? Why was Inu-Oh born with unique characteristics? It is a story about the friendship of Inu-Oh and Tomona, who dance and sing to get to the truth and break each other’s curse.
A performer named Inu-oh really existed six hundred years ago; he shook the world but left nary a trace. Author Hideo Furukawa, giving him a partner in Tomona, retold his story as one of two young men who defy fate to forge their own destinies. Yet it is also a story of life today – whether to align with fate and fashion to seize glory, or to forgo reward to live according to your beliefs. The two offer recompense to the defeated by telling their stories, and this film offers the same to them in kind, while also affirming those who go unrewarded for living according to their beliefs. Perhaps, like OOPArts, Inu-oh and Tomona’s music really did exist. There are many stories we don’t know, but through this film, you can bear witness to theirs.
PRODUCTION 1: Fumie Takeuchi - Asmik Ace, Inc.
1-8-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku
1000005 – Tokyo, Japan
Tel. +81 0)3-6365-8086
Mob. +81 0)80-5968-9657
fumi@asmik-ace.co.jp
http://www.asmik-ace.co.jp
PRODUCTION 2: Eunyoung Choi – Science SARU
3 Chome-1-1 Kichijoji Kitamachi, Musashino
1800003 – Tokyo, Japan
Tel. +81 0)422-66-5006
info@sciencesaru.com
http://www.sciencesaru.com
WORLD SALES: Mai Kato – Asmik Ace. Inc.
1-8-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku
1000005 – Tokyo, Japan
Tel. +81 0)3-6365-8086
Mob. +81 0)70-4547-4901
intl@asmik-ace.co.jp
http://www.asmik-ace.co.jp
EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTION: Gabrielle Rozing - Fortissimo Films
Van Diemenstraat 134
1013 CN – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tel: +31 202159310
Mob: +31628654250
gabrielle@fortissimofilms.com
https://www.fortissimofilms.com
PRESS OFFICE: Marijana Harder
c/o NEW STUDIO
Prinzessinnenstr. 16
10969 – Berlin, Germany
Mob +49 (0)177 79 42 871
mail@marijanaharder.com
www.marijanaharder.com
