If ever a film could sashay, it would be Sakuran. Helmed by first-time director Ninagawa Mika, Sakuran is a gorgeously luscious period film set in the Edo period courtesan district of Yoshiwara. Ninagawa brings her photographer’s eye to the big screen, and the result is a film bursting with vibrant energy, unabashed sexuality, and an exuberant passion for life. Straying from convention, the film features a pop rock soundtrack from Shiina Ringo and an almost over-the-top beauty with its flamboyant kimonos and theatrically vibrant palette. Drawing from Anno Moyoco’s original manga, Ninagawa vividly paints the life and times of the courtesan in all its colors – laughter and tears, excitements and banalities, simple dreams and complex emotions. In showing both the reveled and the reviled, the film stays refreshingly free of sweeping statements about prostitution, and instead lets the characters speak for themselves. Tsuchiya Anna of Kamikaze Girls stars as the film’s feisty heroine, and she brings to the role a brash attitude and bold sex appeal that cinema sees too little of. Alongside Tsuchiya is an illustrious supporting cast including Kimura Yoshino (Nezu no Ban), Ando Masanobu (Big Bang Love, Juvenile A), Narimiya Hiroki (Last Quarter), Kanno Miho (Dolls), and Shiina Kippei (Shinobi).

Brought to the brothels as a child, rebellious Kiyoha (Anne Tsuchiya) stands out even as a young girl, repeatedly talking back, challenging authority, and running away. Her brazen streak stays with her as she grows up to be a sassy straight-talking courtesan with a quick temper and a natural knack for her job. Taking her first patron at the age of 17, she hurls forward without looking back, as she fends off rivalries and rises to the top status of oiran. From the men who come in and out of her life – first love Sojiro (Narimiya Hiroki), brothel clerk Seiji (Ando Masanobu), wealthy samurai Kuranosuke (Shiina Kippei) – Kiyoha tastes hope, heartbreak, and that relentless quest for freedom. But like a goldfish, she is beautiful and prized only as long as she remains in the fishbowl.

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