By Dan Skip Allen

A lot of times, you never know what you’re going to get from foreign films. In the case of “Kokuho”  it’s a Japanese film that deals with the art of Kabuki acting. This art goes back hundreds of years in Japanese culture, and they take it very seriously, as evident in this movie. The film is all in subtitles and is almost 3 hours long, but it’s worth the time to see why it got nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup & Hairstyling at the 98th Academy Awards. Once you watch the movie, you’ll know why.

A 14 year old boy, Kikuo (Ryo Yoshizawa) is doing a performance for his father , and others, who is a Yakuza boss when a rival gang comes in and kills the man and his men. The boy has nobody left in his life, so he is taken in by a close friend of his father, HanaiHanjiro II (Ken Watenabe), who is a traditional Kabuki actor. He befriends the man’s son, Shunsuke (Ryusei Yokohama), who is also a young Kabuki actor in training. Together, they grow up to be great Kabuki actors until they have a falling out due to a decision that Shunsuke’s father hands down. This causes a rift in the family as well that has repercussions for years to come in the world of Kabuki acting.

This story spans many years as the boys grow into men, and they eventually get wives and have children with their wives. Their careers and lives separate after the fateful decision by the father of one of the boys, now a man, which changes their lives irrevocably. Two boys that were so close to one another come to hate each other because of something they had nothing to do with. Except, of course, how they were at Kabuki acting/dancing. This is a big deal in the culture, so the reputation of the father was on the line with his controversial decision. Part of the choice was made up by the crowd that adored the adopted son so much. 

The performances of this film by both of the lead actors were tremendous. With the film spanning so many years, it could be hard for them to stay with these characters from a young age to old age. They are believable in the roles, though. The whole point of Kabuki actors is boys that can look like girls, and these two men have that look about them at a younger age. Especially the boys that play the characters when they are teenagers. All the actors that play the characters do a great job with them. Part of that is the world they are living in, which takes this art so seriously. I’m sure these actors will be seen again in future films.

This movie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup & Hairstyling at the 98th Academy Awards. The main reason being how Kabuki actors use makeup to disguise themselves as these women characters. The process is long and arduous and very difficult to put on and take off after their performances are over. The second half of this is the time span the movie takes place in. The young men turned old men looked fine, but it was the older Kabuki actors that looked cool to me. This is where the most impressive makeup & hairstyling was for the film. As a whole, though, this movie deserved this nomination because it had very impressive makeup & hairstyling throughout the film.

This story was an epic Japanese tale in a modern context. Usually, these types of stories are told using Samurai or period type storylines. Similar in tone or feel to Shogun the FX/HULU Series. Feudal Japan has always been ripe for the picking regarding great Japanese tales. This story fit perfectly in the 70s and 80s, though. It showed the importance of Kabuki but also how the world progressed into a new era. People do that as well. The filmmaker Lee Sang-il shows that perfectly here. I was totally engrossed by this tale of mistrust and lost innocence within the world of Kabuki acting/dancing. I wasn’t that familiar with this world before watching the movie, but I learned a lot after I had watched it. I’m glad about that.

“Kokuho” is a long but very engrossing tale of friendship and mistrust. It spans many years as these boys grow into men. Their lives changed during that time as well. The story is incredible and delves into a world of Kabuki acting and dancing that American audiences don’t know much about. The performances by all the actors who play the two boys who eventually become men are all fantastic as their characters. Watanabe is also very good in his role. The key to the story is the makeup & hairstyling around the Kabuki acting and dancing as well as the aging of the characters. This set the entire tone for this film, which is why it’s so good. I was completely invested in the story throughout the almost 3 hour runtime. That tells you when a movie works so well. 

5 stars

Dan Skip Allen