What On Earth Happened To Yukisada Isao? *** UPDATED ***

Seriously, now. Yukisada Isao was at the helm of GO, a film I positively adore and one that neatly balances out style, character, and some potent social criticism of the racial tensions still very much prevalent within Japan. It marked Yukisada as a director who not only had a fantastic eye but was good with his actors and knew his way around a compelling story as well. I expected a lot from the man after that film and what we've gotten ... well, his films have sold a lot of tickets but they've done so by being shamelessly emotionally manipulative. Grr.

The website for his latest, Into the Faraway Sky, is up and running with a trailer embedded within and it looks to be more of the same. Pretty pictures but a shamelessly heavy hand tugging away on the heartstrings. I want the old Yukisada back.

Into the Faraway Sky website

** UPDATE **

Details about the film, courtesy of Don Brown at Ryuganji:

"Into the Faraway Sky" (Toku no Sora ni Kieta) is a 'kids fantasy movie' billed as the Japanese answer to "Stand By Me", from an original story by Yukisada that he's been working on for seven years. He's also mentioned Emir Kusturica's "Black Cat, White Cat" as an inspiration. It's been shot on location in Hokkaido, with a cast including Kamiki Ryunosuke, Ogo Suzuka, Sasano Yuma, Kohinata Fumiyo, Suzuki Sawa, Ito Ayumi, Nagatsuka Keishi, Tanaka Tetsushi, Kashiwabara Takashi, Chang Chen, Ishibashi Renji, Otake Shinobu, and Miura Tomokazu.

Story:
The future of rural Basui Village is threatened by plans to build an airport. Transfer student Ryosuke (Kamiki) befriends local bad boy Kohei (Sasano) and strange girl Hiharu (Ogo), and their belief in Hiharu's dreams binds them together. However, the adults' childish battles grow more vigorous by the day. The village's future can't be entrusted to them anymore! To protect their home, and Hiharu, Ryosuke and Kohei gather a hundred of their friends in a wheat field marked for the airport's construction. "Let's not wait for some miracle that'll never come - let's create our own!" The two boys don't yet realise that their outlandish mischief will bring about a much bigger miracle...