Yosuke Kubozuka Movies
- 2006
Taiwanese director Wu Mi-Sen's labyrinthine, amnestic romantic drama Amour-Legende centers around Oshima (Yosuke Kubozuka of Isao Yukisada's Go), a married man caught in an illicit affair with a young woman named May. They flee Oshima's family in Taipei City and make a beeline for a South American locale called Snow Mountain - traipsing across outrageously rugged, alien terrain that is inhospitable to even the most hardened traveler. Alas, a surreal series of escapades (such as being inconveniently locked out of a rental car and surviving a prairie full of killer squirrels) drive Oshima around the bend. He loses consciousness, and comes to on a sand dune with yet another young lady, this one a multilingual lass christened Coco - with May nowhere in sight. Coco agrees to help a distraught Oshima find May, and the two hearken back to Snow Mountain - hearing bizarre stories, en route, about the strange and devastating psychological effects rendered by that milieu on couples who harbor illusions of a happy future together. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yosuke Kubozuka, Rachel Ngan, (more)
The martial arts film Samurai Resurrection begins with thousands of commoners being murdered in an attempt to revolt against the their ruler. Ten years after the slaughter, the revolution's leader, Shiro Amakusa, comes back from the dead and begins plotting his revenge. He brings back to life an army of skilled swordsmen and sets his sites on the same person who was responsible for killing him before. Jubei Yagyu is responsible for protecting that ruler, but he will have to fight his reincarnated father in order to fulfill his duty. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Isao Yukisada spins this gritty coming-of-age tale about Sugihara (Yosuke Kubozuka), a Japanese-born, third-generation Korean who struggles to find a place in a society that will not accept him. The film begins with Sugihara studying at a Korean junior high school that is dedicated to memory of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. His father (Tsutomu Yamazaki) is a grizzled ex-boxer who recently changed his citizenship from North to South Korea so he and his wife -- Sugihara's mom (Shinobu Otake) -- could visit Hawaii. Though his father regularly gets drunk and thrashes him, he also taught Sugihara the finer point of the sweet science. At one point in the film, Sugihara takes out an entire basketball team that was bent on taking him out. Upon graduation, Sugihara enters a normal Japanese high school where he meets and soon falls for Sakurai (Kou Shibasaski) -- a loose-sock copper-haired damsel who is attracted to Sugihara's restless spirit. As the film progresses, Sugihara desperately struggles to throw off the stigma of his ethnicity and live a quiet, successful life. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yosuke Kubozuka, Kou Shibasaki, (more)
- 2002
The debut feature film from Sori is a tale of adolescent angst and stylish table tennis sequences. Ping Pong's main character, Tsukimoto (Arata), is an overly sensitive young man who refuses to actually defeat his opponents at the game table because he does not want them to feel bad. His buddy Peco (Yosuke Kubozuka) is a brashly confident and flamboyant player, who meets his match in Kong (Sam Lee). After suffering injuries and temptations, both enter the same major tournament only to realize that they may end up facing off against each other in the finals. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yosuke Kubozuka, Arata, (more)
Yoichi Sai's prison film Doing Time stars Tsutomu Yamazaki as Hanawa, a man serving a sentence in a minimum-security prison. Life in the jail is rigid and organized, eventually leading all of Hanawa's cellmates to abandon their individuality. Hanawa lasts longer than the others, but a stint in solitary confinement leads him to the same emotional and psychological state as the others. Doing Time was screened at the Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yozaburo Ito, Teruyuki Kagawa, (more)
- 2001
Three highly unlikely characters forge a friendship in this offbeat Japanese comedy from first-time director Junichi Mori. Teru (Yosuke Kubozuka) is a big but kindhearted soul whose intellect has been running at half-speed ever since a childhood accident left him with a small amount of brain damage. Teru earns his keep by keeping an eye on his grandmother's Laundromat. One day, a lovely woman named Mizue (Koyuki) comes in to do her wash, and when she leaves a garment behind, Teru runs out to return it to her. They strike up a friendship, and Teru becomes increasingly infatuated with Mizue until she abruptly moves away without warning. One day, lonely Teru sets out to find Mizue, and ends up hitching a ride with Sally (Takashi Naito), a rough-hewn type who makes his living training pigeons for wedding receptions. Sally finds a kindred spirit in Teru, and together they find Mizue. Mizue welcomes the two men into her home, and the three become inseparable, until Sally one day announces that he's getting married, leaving Mizue and Teru to decide just what sort of life they can have together. Laundry received its North American premier at the 2001 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yosuke Kubozuka, Takashi Naito, (more)
