A Film by Sang-il Lee RAGE Based on the novel by Shuichi Yoshida Written and Directed by Sang-il Lee Produced and World sales by Toho Co., Ltd. Tokyo Office: TEL: +81 3 3591 3530 / FAX: +81 3 3591 6610 /E-mail: [email protected] HK Office: TEL: +852 2523 6202 / FAX: +852 2868 5975 / E-mail: [email protected] LA Office: TEL: +1 310 277 1081 / FAX: +1 310 277 6351 / E-mail: [email protected] One year since a ghastly Tokyo murder A killer flees the scene leaving the word “Rage” in blood. Over the next year, he changes his appearance many times, stoking the imagination of a nation. Tashiro works at a fishing port in Chiba where he meets Yohei and his daughter Aiko. Aiko and Tashiro begin dating, while Yohei prays for his daughter’s happiness. But something about Tashiro is bothersome... his unknown past. Yuma is a gay man who works for a large advertising company. He meets Naoto one night. They hook up. Naoto seems a perfect mate, and even wins over Yuma’s mother. All seems rosy until Yuma starts to wonder what his partner does all day. Izumi and Tatsuya are two Okinawa high school teens who befriend a remote island resident named Tanaka. When Izumi is raped, Tatsuya is devastated for failing to protect her. He turns to Tanaka for support, but uncovers a terrible truth. Does trust truly exist? Trust is a tenuous emotion. Once the seeds of doubt are sown, trust is quickly overgrown with suspicion... Aiko turns informer, Yuma ends a promising relationship, and Tatsuya is driven to violent action. An unsolved murder preys on the nation’s fears, and leads to an unexpected convergence. 2 Project Summary Writer Shuichi Yoshida + Director Sang-il Lee The staff that brought you “Villain” ('10) aims for another landmark in Japanese cinema The year 2010 featured a new entry into the annals of great Japanese cinema with “Villain.” It was based on an original novel by Shuichi Yoshida, winner of the 127th Akutagawa Prize for literature for “Park Life”, and was directed by Sang-il Lee, who brought a nation to tears of joy with “Hula Girls” ('06). “Villain” left audiences asking, “Who is the real villain?” while probing deep into the human psyche. The film earned 20 million dollars at the box office and swept Japan’s major cinematic awards: 5 awards from the Japan Academy Prize Association in 2011; top movie award at the 34th Fumiko Yamaji Cultural Foundation ceremony; best film award at the 23rd Nikkan Sports Film Awards and at the 35th Hochi Film Awards; grand prize at the 84th Kinema Junpo’s Top Ten Films of Japan; Best Japanese Picture at the 65th Mainichi Film Awards, and a Blue Ribbon Award (presented by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists) in 2011. “Villain” also won Best Actress award at the 34th Montreal World Film Festival. Now the same staff for “Villain” has reassembled with renewed passion for “Rage”, this time to prod audiences into examining the theme of “trust.” A grisly murder has been discovered in Hachioji City, a suburb of Tokyo. Written in the victims’ blood on a crime scene wall is the word “rage”, a message left by the killer. A year passes with the perpetrator still at large and very little progress made in finding him. The case has preyed upon the nation’s fears, eroding people’s ability to “trust” in others, particularly that of three pairs of people who have all recently befriended someone with a mysterious past. A natural desire to trust in others can easily turn to suspicion. Once lodged, it can grow unchecked. For these three pairs of people, trust, given so easily at first, becomes tenuous currency. Beyond lost trust lies rage - an emotion apt to turn violent and expose, in unforeseen ways, the mystery behind a murder. Rage’s treatment of three different relationships and multiple protagonists all struggling for a place to direct their emotions is quintessential Sang-il Lee is a master at telling moving stories that penetrate deeply into contemporary society, people’s hearts and cinematic lore. 3 The novel upon which the movie is based was written by Shuichi Yoshida which itself was inspired by a true murder case. The story, which treats themes that cut deeply into the hearts of anyone as something that could happen to anybody, was first published as a serial in the Yomiuri newspaper, drew high acclaim and calls for a feature film adaptation. Director Sang-il Lee followed up his hit movie, “Villain”, with a Japanese remake of the Oscar winning classic, “The Unforgiven”, into which he breathed his own life. With “Rage”, Lee takes on another great Yoshida masterpiece, this time choosing to pen the screenplay himself, and attesting to the passion and high expectations he harbors for the work. “Rage” promises to showcase Lee’s pluckiness and talent for distilling great realism from characters in emotionally- heightened circumstances. How well must you know someone to have trust? Three couples touched by a horrible murder learn that beyond trust, there lies rage 4 STAFF “Villain’s” Team Reunites in “Rage” Shooting for new ground in Japanese cinema ● Original Story Shuichi Yoshida Born in 1968, Yoshida made his debut as a novelist with “The Last Son” earning him the 84th Literature Newcomer Prize in 1997. His 2002 novel, “Parade” won the 15th Yamamoto Shugoro Award. He followed with “Park Life” which garnered the prestigious 127th Akutagawa Prize, sealing him as both an accomplished literary and popular novelist. His “Villain”, “A Story of Yonosuke” and “The Ravine of Goodbye” were all made into major motion pictures, and Yoshida continues to be a highly sought after writer for movie adaptations. “Rage” was run as a serial in the Yomiuri daily newspaper from 2012 before being published by Chuokoron-Shinsha, Inc. in 2014 ●Direction & Screenplay Sang-il Lee Born in 1974, Lee followed college by studying at the Japan Academy of Moving Images. His graduation film, “Chong” ('99) went on to win awards in four categories at the Pia Film Festival in 2000, serving as his directorial debut. His first major film work was “69 sixty nine”, written by Ryu Murakami and screenplay by Kankuro Kudo. But it was his next big movie, “Hula Girls” which monopolized domestic film awards including Best Picture at the 30th Japan Academy Awards, as well as being selected Japanese representative in Best Foreign Film category at the 79th Academy Awards in the U.S. “Villain” ('10) earned him both domestic and international acclaim, as the movie won awards at both the Japan Academy and Montreal World Film Festival award ceremonies. ●Music Ryuichi Sakamoto Born in 1952, world-renowned musician and performing artist, Sakamoto, completed graduate studies at the Tokyo University of the Arts before forming the pioneering electronic band, Yellow Magic Orchestra, in 1978 with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. His innovative use of computing and electronics put him at the cutting edge of the music scene. In 1983, he won a British Academy Film award for his theme song to the movie, “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” directed by Nagisa Oshima. He then won an Oscar at the 60th Academy Awards for his score of best picture in Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor.” Sakamoto continues to burnish his position as a leading international film composer. “Rage” is his first Japanese film score since “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai” directed by Takashi Miike in 2011. 5 CAST Japan’s leaders in the acting craft depict “Rage” Yohei: Ken Watanabe Yohei works in a fishing village in Chiba, a single father who raised a daughter, Aiko, whom he adores. When she returns home an emotional wreck after having been tricked into working in the sex trade in Tokyo, he looks to support in her quest to restart her life in Chiba. But not able to imagine his daughter finding happiness, Yohei is unable to trust the boy, Tashiro, with whom his daughter has grown close. Tashiro: Kenichi Matsuyama Murder suspect A. A young man who works a part-time job in a fishing village in Chiba. Working together with Yohei, Tashiro spends his weekends and holidays coaching youth soccer, but despite outward gentleness seems tight-lipped. He begins dating Aiko, who is close to him in age, but when facts gradually come to light about his secretive past, he vanishes from sight. Tanaka: Mirai Moriyama Murder suspect B. A young man who lived like a survivalist on a remote island of Okinawa. He establishes an honest rapport with a high school girl, Izumi, who visits his island, but he asks her to promise him not to speak of him or her experiences there to anyone. Later, he hits it off well with a friend of Izumi, a boy named Tatsuya, but will occasionally exhibit a transformative wild side to his personality. Naoto: Go Ayano Murder suspect C. A lonely, gay young man, who strikes up a relationship with a man he meets at a sauna, Yuma, and winds up living at his home. Naoto grows close with Yuma’s hospitalized mother, narrowing the distance with Yuma, but Naoto’s unknown activities during the day breed suspicion in Yuma, leading to Naoto’s sudden disappearance. 6 Aiko: Aoi Miyazaki A young woman working in a fishing port in Chiba, Aiko suffered great emotional injury when she moved to Tokyo where she was tricked into working in the sex trade. Long doubting whether she is capable of finding happiness, she meets Tashiro and begins to entertain hope for a brighter future.