Sanchû Uprising: Voices at Dawn (新しき民) 9 years old

1726, Sanchu, Okayama Prefecture: farmers negotiate with the feudal domain in order to seek exemption from rising taxes. Infighting leads to suppression by the samurai class, and the farmers band together for battle. It’s a moment of injustice, setting the stage for bravery and sacrifice. However those daring characters remain largely offscreen in Juichiro Yamasaki’s brilliant film. Instead, the cowardly protagonist Jihei (Naohisa Nakagaki) faces a crisis of the risks of rebellion and its aftermath that resonates with our contemporary moment. In this rare independent jidaigeki, Kenta Tawara’s beautiful digital B&W photography channels and refigures luminaries of classical Japanese cinema, boasting rapturous animated sequences by Tomomichi Nakamura and experimental score by Ayako Sasaki.

Credits

Sanchû Uprising: Voices at Dawn Cast

Name Character
Shoichi Honda
Yôta Kawase He was 45, now 54 years old

Sanchû Uprising: Voices at Dawn Crew

Name Department
Juichiro Yamasaki as Director. Directing
Sanchû Uprising: Voices at Dawn poster
Sanchû Uprising: Voices at Dawn (9 years)

  • Release day: Sunday, February 22, 2015
  • Runtime: 117 minutes