Not content with being one of the most desirable actors in the Japanese movie industry, Joe Odagiri has made a handsome directorial debut. "They Say Nothing Stays the Same" had its world premiere on the fringes of the Venice International Film Festival earlier this month, and it's a film that aims straight for the global art-house circuit.
With its languid pace, sumptuous visuals and mournful depiction of a traditional way of life on the verge of extinction, this period drama harks back not just to an earlier Japan, but to an earlier era of Japanese filmmaking.
Odagiri has certainly called in the favors. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle is just one of the big names involved. The estimable character actor Akira Emoto helms a cast including Masatoshi Nagase, Tadanobu Asano and Yu Aoi, plus a rare screen appearance by musician Haruomi Hosono. Celebrated costume designer Emi Wada supplies the outfits, while the lush, faintly eerie score comes courtesy of Armenian jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan.