@celeste_writes
A patient, formally daring work — the cinematography lingers on empty rooms longer than most audiences will tolerate, but those who stay are rewarded with the most haunting final act of the year.
The Tale of Genji Museum in Uji City, Kyoto will be airing a short film blending history and fantasy, the story follows a modern high school girl named Hana who is transformed into a cat and transported back in time. She travels 1,000 years ago to the Heian Era as portrayed in The Tale Of Genji, arguably the most famous novel in Japanese literature. Guided by the novel's titular character Hikaru Genji, Hana experiences firsthand the emotions that the author Murasaki Shikibu depicted in her novel. The short features scenes based on The Diary of Lady Murasaki and other historical materials, such as the real-life noble Fujiwara no Michinaga swiping early drafts of The Tale Of Genji because he could not wait to read chapters as Murasaki wrote them.
Quick Stats
0.0
TMDB Rating
0
Votes
20m
Runtime
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Return
Key Crew
DirectorRika Ota
Produced by
NHK Planet Co., Ltd., Kinki BranchLIDENFILMS
Where to Watch
No streaming information available for Genji Fantasy: The Cat Fell in Love With Hikaru Genji yet.
Critics & Reviews
3 featured@jhalberg
I walked in expecting another genre exercise and walked out feeling like I'd been eavesdropping on a confession. The lead performance is genuinely singular — a career-defining turn.
@priya_a
A few too many scenes feel borrowed from a better film, but the soundtrack and the production design carry the rest. Solid recommendation for fans of slow-burn European thrillers.
Cast
Tomoaki Maeno
Hikaru Genji / Kouji (voice)
Mao Ichimichi
Hana (voice)
Kikuko Inoue
Murasaki Shikibu (voice)
Hisako Tojo
Empress Shōshi (voice)
Keiji Fujiwara
Fujiwara no Michinaga (voice)
