Seven Weeks

Seven Weeks
Seven Weeks
	Film poster
Japanese	野のなななのか
Directed by	Nobuhiko Obayashi
Release dates	March 2, 2014 (YIFFF); May 17, 2014 (Japan);
Running time	171 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Seven Weeks (Japanese: 野のなななのか, Hepburn: No no nanananoka) is a Japanese drama film, produced in 2014, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. The film stars Tōru Shinagawa, Takako Tokiwa, Tokie Hidari, Takehiro Murata, Yutaka Matsushige, Shunsuke Kubozuka, Saki Terashima and Hirona Yamazaki. The screenplay by Obayashi and Tadashi Naito was based on the story by Koji Hasegawa.^[1] The residents of the small northern town of Ashibetsu, where the film was set, helped fund the film.^[2]^[3]

Plot

The film examines such issues as Japan's wartime responsibility, the current nuclear fallout issue, and romance. The director, Nobuhiko Obayashi, has referred to the film as "Guernica in moving images."^[1] The film's story follows the funeral of Mitsuo Suzuki, where the family, including his sister Eiko; grandchildren Fuyuki, Haruhiko, Akito, Kanna; and his great-granddaughter Kasane^[1] all meet to discuss his death. Much of the film focuses on flashbacks to Suzuki's youth, and covers the history of the town of Ashibetsu during the 1930s. The film crisscrosses the stories of a dozen different characters, from different decades.^[2]^[4]

Cast

The film stars

Tōru Shinagawa
Takako Tokiwa
Tokie Hidari
Takehiro Murata
Yutaka Matsushige
Shunsuke Kubozuka
Saki Terashima
Hirona Yamazaki.

Production

The residents of the small northern town of Ashibetsu, where the film was set, helped fund the film, which resulted in the film having a small budget.^[5]