Dir. Lee Sang-il
2025 | 175 mins | Japan | Japanese with English subtitles
Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, Mitsuki Takahata, Shinobu Terajima

Showing Times

• Fri 15 May: 7.30pm
• Sat 16 May: 3pm
• Wed 20 May: 1pm
• Thu 21 May: 7.15pm

Lee Sang-il’s (Pachinko, Villain, Hula Girls) Kokuho has become a cultural phenomenon in Japan, where it’s become the highest grossing live action film in the country’s history, Kokuho is a vivid monument to the artists who would sacrifice everything in the pursuit of the ultimate performance.

Nagasaki, 1964. After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, 14-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, Kikuo decides to dedicate himself to this most traditional form of theatre. Across decades, the two young men grow, struggle and evolve together – from acting school to the grandest stages – amid scandals and glory, brotherhood and betrayals, as each strives to become the greatest living kabuki master.

Kokuho is a film of awe-inspiring scope and sumptuous beauty that explores the pursuit of perfection in an incredibly physical and exacting art form.

BBFC Rating
Rated X – BBFC content warnings

Venue: Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix

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