Film Archive

The Book of the Dead

Tribute to Kihachiro Kawamoto, The Great Unknown Giant of Japanese Animation 2005 / Shisha no Sho / Japan 2005

Through her art, Iratsume, a woman from an honourable family chosen by the gods, redeems the violent death of a prince who became fond of a picture of her mother. The Book of the Dead is influenced by the myth of the role of the artist who stands on the side of good. This perhaps somewhat old-fashioned and romantic idea nevertheless prepared the way for the creation of a very strong and effective story.

Synopsis

Although set in Japan’s distant past (the mid 8th century), Kawamoto here makes a statement about the war in Iraq using the same peaceful means as his lovely heroine Iratsume: she atones for violence committed in the past through her artistic endeavours. Chosen by the gods, Iratsume was born into an honourable family. While following an inner dream vision, she weaves a piece of material, covering it with a beautiful spiritual image. The Book of the Dead is influenced by the myth of the role of the artist who stands, void of all illusion, on the side of good. This perhaps somewhat old-fashioned and romantic idea nevertheless prepared the way for the creation of a very strong and effective story. Only the director’s second work to approach feature length, the film was finished recently, in April 2005.

About the film

70 min / Color, 35 mm
World premiere
Director Kihachiro Kawamoto / Screenplay Kihachiro Kawamoto / Dir. of Photography Minoru Tamura, Kunihiko Itami / Music Ryohei Hirose / Editor Nobuyuki Ito / Producer Fukuma / Production Sakura Motion Picture Co., Ltd. / Cast Rie Miyazawa, Kanze Tetsunojo, Kyoko Kishida / Contact 100MeterFilms

Contacts

100MeterFilms
Dainan Building 1F, Honshio-cho 6 Banchi Shinjuku-ku, 160-0003, Tokyo
Japan
Phone: +81 3 33 58 34 11
Fax: +81 3 33 58 34 11
E-mail: [email protected]

Guests

Kihachiro Kawamoto
Film Director

Shohei Shiozaki
Service Company Rep.