Fantasy invades reality during a theatre production of Yotsuya Kaidan in the horror film OVER YOUR DEAD BODY, from director Takashi Miike. Photo courtesy of TIFF. © 2014 Takashi Miike`s Latest to Screen at Toronto International Film Festival Source: Toei Co., Ltd., Mongrel International, Toronto International Film Festival, SEDIC International Production Notes: Giovani Fulvi, Toronto International Film Festival Official Movie Site: kuime.jp (Japan)
International promotional art courtesy of Mongrel International. © 2014 After opening last month in Japan, Takashi Miike`s OVER YOUR DEAD BODY (??-???-, Kuime) comes to North America with the international premiere, September 11th at the Toronto International Film Festival. The cinematic master Miike outdoes himself with this new horror movie. Ebizo Ichikawa of HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI 3D (??, Ichimei, 2011) and ASK THIS OF RIKYU (???????, Rikyu ni Tazune yo, 2013) plays the charismatic villain. Opposite him, Ko Shibasaki of 47 RONIN plays Oiwa, Japan`s deadliest heroine. Handsome Hideaki Ito of LESSON OF THE EVIL (????, Aku no Kyoten, 2012) plays the ugly blind man. Together they realize a tale of love, obsession and insanity.
STORY
A star, Miyuki Goto (Ko Shibasaki) plays Oiwa, the protagonist in a new play based on the ghost story, Yotsuya Kaidan. She pulls some strings to get her lover, Kosuke Hasegawa (Ebizo Ichikawa) cast in the play although he`s a relatively unknown actor. Other performers are Rio Asahina (Miho Nakanishi) and Jun Suzuki (Hideaki Ito) who lusts after Miyuki. With the cast in place, rehearsals begin. In the play, the egotistical Iemon mercilessly abuses Oiwa who develops a deadly grudge against him. Off stage there`s another reality with the cast`s possessive love and obsessions. Trapped between the play and reality, the cast`s feelings for each other are amplified. When it becomes clear that love is not meant to be both on and off stage, the love turns to a grudge and crosses the blurred line between reality and fantasy. Will their love flourish or turn dark?
Photo courtesy of TIFF. © 2014 PRODUCTION NOTES
Yet another wild cinematic detour from madly prolific Japanese auteur Takashi Miike, OVER YOUR DEAD BODY unfolds within the walls of a theatre where a troupe of players are in rehearsals for a production of Yotsuya Kaidan, a 200-year-old tale of murder, betrayal, and phantasmagorical vengeance -- and where life comes to imitate art in spooky and ultimately shocking ways. Yotsuya Kaidan, one of Japan`s most famous ghost stories, tells of a poor, unemployed samurai who kills his fiancée`s disapproving father. The lovers marry and have a child, but continue to live in poverty. Sixteen years later, a nobleman offers the samurai a lucrative position, with one condition: the samurai must marry the nobleman`s granddaughter. The samurai doesn`t want to leave his wife, but the promise of advancement after so many years of hardship is more temptation than he can bear. His decision to abandon his old life for a new one sets the stage for a great upheaval -- and a brutal revenge. Originally produced in 1825 as a kabuki play, Yotsuya Kaidan has been adapted to film over thirty times since, but it has never been seen like this. Miike, who is also a veteran theatre director, mounts the action on a number of dazzlingly elaborate sets that sail into place on a rotating platform. Just as captivating as the narrative being played out onstage is the one taking shape in the wings, involving secret affairs, mental illness, and a pregnancy that could be real or just as illusionary as the fictional specters on the stage. As theatre and life begin to intertwine, OVER YOUR DEAD BODY builds to a nightmarish finale that only a filmmaker as perversely brilliant as Miike could have envisioned.”
Jun Suzuki (Hideaki Ito) and Kosuke Hasegawa (Ebizo Ichikawa). Photo courtesy of Toei Co., Ltd. © 2014 ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Takashi Miike has become synonymous with the promise of a unique onscreen experience, regardless of the genre. Born in Osaka, Japan, he is a graduate of the Yokohama Vocational School of Broadcast and Film. Highly prolific, Miike is credited with over 80 films since making his directorial debut in the early 90s. Landmark films in his illustrious career include AUDITION (???????, Odishon, 1999), ICHI THE KILLER (???1, Koroshiya 1, 2001), VISITOR Q (????Q, Bijitaa Q, 2001) and the DEAD OR ALIVE Yakuza trilogy. OVER YOUR DEAD BODY is his latest film.
Photo courtesy of Toei Co., Ltd. © 2014 CREDITS
Running Time: 94 minutes Rating: R Japanese Release Date: August 23, 2014 International Premiere: September 11, 2014 (Toronto International Film Festival) Cast Kosuke Hasegawa: Ebizo Ichikawa Miyuki Goto: Ko Shibasaki Jun Suzuki: Hideaki Ito Rio Asahina: Miho Nakanishi Kayoko Kurata: Maiko Misuzu Horiuchi: Toshie Negishi Michisaburo Ogata: Hiroshi Katsuno Kanji Shimada: Ikko Furuya Crew Director: Takashi Miike Executive Producers: Ebizo Ichikawa, Toshiaki Nakazawa Producers: Misako Saka, Shigeji Maeda Screenplay: Kikumi Yamagishi Cinematographer: Nobuyasu Kita Editor: Kenji Yamashita Sound: Jun Nakamura Music: Koji Endo Production Designers: Yuji Hayashida, Eri Sakujima Production Company: SEDIC International Inc., OLM, Inc. Distributor: Toei International Sales Agent: Mongrel International © 2014 "Over Your Dead Body" Film Partners
TIFF SCREENING SCHEDULE
• Thursday, September 11, 6:00pm at Ryerson • Friday, September 12, 9:00pm at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema • Saturday, September 13, 6:30pmv at TIFF Bell Lightbox Cinema 2 All screenings in Japanese with English subtitles.
Miyuki Goto (Ko Shibasaki) as Oiwa. Photo courtesy of Toei Co., Ltd. © 2014