Sakuran (Blu-ray) (Special Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan
Version)

Product Description

If ever a film could sashay, it would be Sakuran. Helmed by first-time director Ninagawa Mika, Sakuran is a gorgeously luscious period film set in the Edo period courtesan district of Yoshiwara. Ninagawa brings her photographers eye to the big screen, & the result is a film bursting with vibrant energy, unabashed sexuality, & an exuberant passion for life. Straying from convention, the film features a pop rock soundtrack from Shiina Ringo & an almost over-the-top beauty with its flamboyant kimonos & theatrically vibrant palette. Drawing from Anno Moyocos original manga, Ninagawa vividly paints the life & times of the courtesan in all its colors
- laughter & tears, excitements & banalities, simple dreams & complex emotions. In showing both the reveled & the reviled, the film stays refreshingly free of sweeping statements about prostitution, & instead lets the characters speak for themselves. Tsuchiya Anna of Kamikaze Girls stars as the films feisty heroine, & she brings to the role a brash attitude & bold sex appeal that cinema sees too little of. Alongside Tsuchiya is an illustrious supporting cast including Kimura Yoshino ( Nezu no Ban), Ando Masanobu ( Big Bang Love, Juvenile A), Narimiya Hiroki ( Last Quarter), Kanno Miho ( Dolls), & Shiina Kippei ( Shinobi).

Brought to the brothels as a child, rebellious Kiyoha (Tsuchiya Anne) stands out even as a young girl, repeatedly talking back, challenging authority, & running away. Her brazen streak stays with her as she grows up to be a sassy straight-talking courtesan with a quick temper & a natural knack for her job. Taking her first patron at the age of 17, she hurls forward without looking back, as she fends off rivalries & rises to the top status of oiran. From the men who come in & out of her life
- first love Sojiro (Narimiya Hiroki), brothel clerk Seiji (Ando Masanobu), wealthy samurai Kuranosuke (Shiina Kippei)
- Kiyoha tastes hope, heartbreak, & that relentless quest for freedom. But like a goldfish, she is beautiful & prized only as long as she remains in the fishbowl.