Distance (2001 film)

Distance
Directed by	Hirokazu Koreeda
Written by	Hirokazu Koreeda
Produced by	Masayuki Akieda
Starring	Arata Yūsuke Iseya Susumu Terajima Yui Natsukawa
Cinematography	Yutaka Yamasaki
Edited by	Hirokazu Koreeda
Release dates	May 10, 2001 (2001-05-10) (France) May 26, 2001 (2001-05-26)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Distance is a 2001 film by Japanese director Koreeda Hirokazu, starring Arata, Tadanobu Asano, Yūsuke Iseya, Susumu Terajima, and Yui Natsukawa.

Plot

Members of a cult, modeled on Aum Shinrikyo, sabotage a city's water supply, then commit mass suicide near the shores of a lake. Family members (the credited cast, minus Asano) of the perpetrators meet at the lake to observe the anniversary of their loved ones' deaths. They meet a former member of the cult (Asano), who had trained for the water sabotage attack but defected at the last minute. After realizing their vehicles were missing, Asano leads them to the cabin where he and the deceased cult members had trained for the attack, and they pass the night reminiscing about those they'd known and lost, shown cinematically through improvised dialogues and flashbacks. Sakata, the aforementioned surviving cult member and last to see most of the departed alive, and Atsushi (Arata) interrogate one another about Yûko (played by actress/model Ryo), Atsushi's sister, whom Sakata had asked to run away with him the night before the attack.

Cast

• Arata - Atsushi
• Yūsuke Iseya - Masaru
• Susumu Terajima - Minoru
• Yui Natsukawa - Kiyoka
• Tadanobu Asano - Sakata

Reception

Distance has an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.3/10.

Awards

This film was nominated for the Golden Palm award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

External links

• Distance at IMDb