Kita no zeronen

2005
2h 50m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

In 1868, after the fall of the Shogun-dominated Japan, the new government orders people from Awaji, near Kobe, to re-locate to the northern part of Hokkaido. These people once supported the ... Read allIn 1868, after the fall of the Shogun-dominated Japan, the new government orders people from Awaji, near Kobe, to re-locate to the northern part of Hokkaido. These people once supported the now displaced Samurais of the older days. After two years, over 500 of them settled in the... Read allIn 1868, after the fall of the Shogun-dominated Japan, the new government orders people from Awaji, near Kobe, to re-locate to the northern part of Hokkaido. These people once supported the now displaced Samurais of the older days. After two years, over 500 of them settled in their new land under the leadership of Hideaki, husband of Shino. However, as crops fail he i... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

184

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 13 nominations total

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User reviews1

6.6184

Featured reviews

7poikkeus

Stately, well-produced tale of early Hokkaido

This finely-etched social portrait details the first wave of colonists who chose to settle into the hardy world of Hokkaido in Meiji, Japan in the 1870s. The first group must transplant themselves into a rustic, untamed wilderness where most characters' loyalty and physical limits are tested; it's a richly forested land that still has a population of hardy creatures like wild bears. Ken Watanabe's character has second thoughts, however, with a land that cannot equal the lushness of his native Awaji.

The story is told deliberately and, at times, slowly, but one gets a good sense of the rustic conditions under which the common folk must try to survive. Travail teaches many to suspend notions of "class" in the hopes of building a new world from scratch.

Watchable for its fine production and photography - and less for the ordinary simple writing.