The most expensive Japanese movie ever made
The cinema of Japan is a rich and vibrant strain of the medium that’s often contributed to some of the best movies of all time. From the searing social realism of Yasujirō Ozu to Takeshi Kitano’s blook-soaked tales of vengeance, this relatively small archipelago in the Pacific has given cinephiles an eclectic choice of every genre under the sun. And, from a purely spectacle standpoint, they’ve also given some very expensive-looking films.
While his earlier works were rooted in contemporary Tokyo, the later movies of Akira Kurosawa were nothing short of epic. In fact, many cinephiles and scholars would probably go as far as to say that his work defined what epic cinema could be. Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and Kagemusha, all exquisitely stylised historical action movies, culminated in 1985’s Ran.
It was a technicolour, widescreen interpretation of King Lear that still stands as one of the most visually impressive and jaw-dropping feats of cinema ever undertaken. At the time, it cost $11million, so taking inflation into account, it had a budget of roughly $30m, and it shows. Every frame is awash with hundreds of extras, authentic period production designs and stunning costumes. But even that wasn’t the most expensive Japanese movie ever made.
No, the holder of that title goes to a relatively recent and surprising entry in the Studio Ghibli canon: 2013’s The Tale of Princess Kaguya. Directed by the late and legendary Isao Takahata, Wes Anderson’s favourite of the studio, this anime was a jaw-dropping example of how far animation as an art form can be stretched. With Takahata conceiving of the idea as early as the 1960s, the movie was decades in the making – and had a budget that skyrocketed to a staggering $49.3m.
Even by global standards, let alone the Japanese film industry, that sum is astronomical. Yet, every penny of that budget shows up on screen in meticulous and distinct animation with watercolour backgrounds and groundbreaking storytelling. Based on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a 10th-century Japanese folklore, the story revolves around a bamboo cutter who discovers a radiant princess inside a bamboo shoot. What follows is a touching and melancholic journey of the celestial princess navigating the human world with all its joys, sorrows, and inevitable mortal tragedies.
One of the movie’s most striking features is its unique art style. Unlike previous anime movies, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya employs a sketchy, watercolour approach, making each frame resemble a moving painting. At the time of release, Takahata told Wired that, rather than distract audiences from the story with photorealistic illustration, the choice was to help audiences “recall the reality deep within the drawings”.
It could have been a risky manoeuvre, but the result is a visual and emotional treat. Of all the Ghibli films out there, it remains surprising that The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is the one that cost the most – let alone out of Japanese cinema in its entirety. Nevertheless, it’s a gorgeous movie, and something is affirming in the fact that financiers recognised the inherent artistic value it would have.
Watch the trailer below.
