In Nagasaki, 1964, the death of a yakuza leader sets his orphaned son Kikuo on a fateful course. Adopted by a famous Kabuki actor, Kikuo finds both a kindred spirit and intense rival in the actor’s other son, Shunsuke, as both children dedicate themselves to mastering this traditional form of theatre. Over the course of five decades, Kikuo (played in adulthood by Ryu Yoshizawa, who spent a year studying Kabuki for the role) and Shunsuke (Ryusei Yokohama) ascend to Japan’s grandest stages while perfecting the craft of onnagata (men playing women on stage)—but only one of them can be ordained ningen kokuho (“national treasure”).
Currently breaking Japanese box office records, Kokuho is an epic film and passion project 15 years in the making for its director, Sang-il Lee. Lee’s love for Kabuki is evident in the film’s resplendent visuals, from the immaculate set design and impeccable costumes to the precision of its mesmerizing Kabuki performances. Monumental in its ambition and intricate in its dynamics, Kokuho is a work to be treasured.
Oscar Submission: Japan
Media Partner
Ryō Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, Mitsuki Takahata, Shinobu Terajima, Ken Watanabe
Japan
2025
In Japanese with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Atsuhiro Iwakami, Nobuhiko Ito, Hiroyuki Araki, Minami Ichikawa, Akihito Watanabe, Shinzo Matsuhashi
Producer
Shinzo Matsuhashi
Screenwriter
Satoko Okudera
Cinematography
Sofian El Fani
Editor
Tsuyoshi Imai
Production Design
Yohei Taneda
Original Music
Marihiko Hara
Sang-il Lee 李相日
Born in 1974, Sang-il Lee is a Japanese director of Korean descent. He studied at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image, a film school founded by Shōhei Imamura. His 2000 graduation film, Chong, received widespread acclaim. Since then, he has directed ten feature films, including Unforgiven (2013), a remake of Clint Eastwood’s western, which was presented at the Venice Film Festival.
Filmography: Hula Girls (2006); Villain (2010); Unforgiven (2013); Rage (2016); The Blue Hearts (2017); The Wandering Moon (2022)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).