Creatives Behind Japanese Film ‘Kokuho’ Talk About Filmmaking Process

On a warm late October afternoon, a full house at the San Vicente Bungalows in Los Angeles got a sneak preview of one of the year’s most acclaimed international Oscar contenders, Lee Sang-il ’s Kokuho . The THR Frontrunners screening introduced the crowd to an epic, nearly three-hour-long portrait of the life of a fictional kabuki actor, which THR ’s review from last week called “a stunning tale of art, ambition and bloodlines.”

Lee had wanted to make a film set in the world of kabuki, the classical form of Japanese theater that dates back to the 17th century, for more than a decade, and found the ideal text to adapt from in Shuichi Yoshida’s novel of the same name. Set in post-World War II Japan and spanning decades, Kokuho follows Kikuo (played by Sōya Kurokawa and Ryo