Mobile Navigation
Operetta Tanuki Goten
This “energetic, inventive and ever-so-slightly insane mishmash of music, magic and madness” (Frank Kermode, The Guardian) stars Jo Odagiri as a prince. After being exiled, he comes across a magical land of shape-shifting raccoons and falls in love with their princess (Zhang Ziyi). Rooted in Japanese folklore, studded with tunes that range from operetta to hip hop, and set in a fantastical Edo period of the imagination, this film shows director Seijun Suzuki at his most kindhearted and whimsical. Although he was pitching a project as late as 2008 (at the age of 85!), this is most likely Suzuki’s final film, and it’s a fittingly friendly way to say goodbye.
35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles, 111 min. Production: The Princess Raccoon Production Committee, Geneon Entertainment, Dentsu, Nippon Herald Films, Shochiku Co. Ltd., Eisei Gekijo, Ogura Jimusyo, Dentsu Tec. Producer: Satoru Ogura, Ikki Katashima. Director: Seijun Suzuki. Screenwriter: Yoshio Urasawa. Cinematographer: Yonezou Maeda. Production Design: Takeo Kimura. Editor: Nobuyuki Ito. Music: Michiru Oshima, Ryomei Shirai. With: Zhang Ziyi, Joe Odagiri, Hiroko Yakushimura, Mikijiro Hira, Saori Yuki.
