Happy Keiko for July! These past few months have been banner ones for the Keiko Kitagawa fan, with her awesome drama "Anata wo Ubatta Sono Hi kara" about to wrap up, and news of a brand new theatrical film "NIGHT FLOWER" announced!
From Yahoo Japan:
KEIKO KITAGAWA stars in “NIGHT FLOWER", HER FIRST TIME STARRING IN A MOVIE in 4 YEARS!
Actress Keiko Kitagawa (38) will play the role of a drug dealer, completely changing her previous pure image, in the movie "Night Flower" , directed by Eiji Uchida), which will be released on November 28. This will be her first starring role in a movie in four years since "First Love" (directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi) in 2021.
Director Uchida's second Midnight series, following the 2020 film "Midnight Swan," (which won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Picture for its sensitive depiction of the struggles of transgender people), is an ambitious work written and scripted by Uchida. It is a human suspense story in which Natsuki, played by Kitagawa, struggles as a drug dealer to raise her two children.
She plays a strong character almost makeup-free, with messy hair and speaking in Kansai dialect. Kitagawa said that when she read the script, she was "shocked." Kitagawa is also a mother of two children, and said, "Drug trafficking is not right, but I am strongly attracted to the idea of giving up everything for your children."
It has been 2 years since Kitagawa and Director Uchida have worked together on WOWOW's 2011 drama "Drama W: Sunset." Kitagawa, who is from Hyogo Prefecture, said that Director Uchida explained to her about the role she will be playing as a mother living in the Kansai region. Although it is a role she has never played before, she said, "I hope viewers will watch over the strong desire of a mother to protect her child, and her down-to-earth determination to somehow live a positive life in a corrupted world."
When Director Uchida was writing the script for "Midnight Swan," he imagined a mother living in the criminal world of the night, which was the original idea for the story. Regarding Kitagawa, he praised her, saying, "She took on the difficult role of a drug dealer, and on set, she exploded with overwhelming acting that I had never seen before. I am happy to be able to see the moment when Kitagawa enters her next phase as an actress."
WOW, sounds SO intriguing! As someone living outside of Japan, however all I am able to do is cross fingers that NETFLIX or some other streaming site will host it once it finishes its theatrical run! Such a LONG wait!
