ICJS Event: Japanese Cinema Eclectics - Curated by Donald Richie

A Multi-part Series Devoted to Unexplored Tangents of the Japanese Film

Film: Casshern

Written and directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. With Yusuke Iseya, Kumiko Aso, Akira Terao, Kanako Higuchi, Fumiyo Kohinata, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Mayumi Sada, 142mins. (2004)

About the Film

It is the late 21st century. Earth is in crises and mankind is at risk. Legend tells of a hero who will arise and set things right. In the mean time, it is the last day of the Fifty Year War and the robot armies are still rioting. The Neo-Cell is being developed by dedicated scientists but will this panacea be perfected in time? Meanwhile our hero’s mother is going blind and his fiancée is kidnapped. In the face of the rebels of Zone Seven he has but little choice. He, himself, must become Casshern, the legendary hero who will save mankind.

This single showing (the original Japanese with English subtitles) is made possible through the permission of Shochiku (Japan).

About Donald Richie

Donald Richie, former Curator of Film at the New York Museum of Modern Art, is the author of many books on Japanese cinema, including his most recent, One Hundred Years of Japanese Film. He has also written widely on many other aspects of this country where he has spent most of his life, including the classic travel book, The Inland Sea, and his latest, Botandoro.