Chizuru Ikewaki explores her inner modern girl in ‘Oka o Koete’

Ever since she made a splash in the movie industry at 18 for playing the 14-year-old daughter of a divorced manzai comedy team in Jun Ichikawa’s Osaka Story, Chizuru Ikewaki has kept herself steadily employed by getting cast in supporting or co-starring roles alongside some of Japan’s biggest stars in big budget movies and dramas on all the major Japanese networks. While this has certainly lead to a fairly successful career, she probably hasn’t gotten as much credit as she deserves for her acting chops. Hopefully a leading-role in Banmei Takahashi’s upcoming Oka o Koete (Over the Hill) will buck that trend.

In the film Chizuru plays Yoko, a recent graduate who’s looking for work in early Showa era Tokyo. Her friend sets her up with an interview at Bungeishunju publishing company and she immediately catches the eye of Kan Kikuchi, eventually landing a job as his personal assistant. Kikuchi, played by character actor Toshiyuki Nishida, is a real historical figure who founded Bungeishunju and later went on to head Daiei Motion Picture Company. The story in the film, however, is completely fictional.

Having grown up in an area which more closely resembled Edo period Tokyo than her new modern surroundings, Yoko is fascinated by the fast lifestyle and pop culture she’s now being exposed to. Meanwhile, Kikuchi is growing old and all his money can’t buy him charm or good looks. When Korean-born playboy and author Hae-song Ma (Hidetoshi Nishijima) comes into the picture he quickly catches the eye of Yoko, much to the chagrin of Kikuchi. As the two men butt heads, Yoko grows into a more independent woman with her own goals and ambitions of becoming an author starting to take shape.

Check out the trailer below:

Incidentally, the Oka o Koete theme song featured in the trailer is a cover of a song originally written in 1931 and later covered in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. This latest version is performed by the ukulele-wielding folk singer Tsuji Ayano, who’s had quite a run on movie soundtrack work over the past few years (Arch Angels, The Cat Returns, Keroro Gunso 3, etc.) . And considering her style isn’t really marketable in a music industry saturated with pre-packaged, overproduced Jpop, any sort of alternative outlet that gets her songs more exposure is a good thing in my book.

Oka o Koete opens in Japan on May 17th.

Links:
Official website
Eigapedia
IMDb

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Tags: chizuru ikewaki, hidetoshi nishijima, toshiyuki nishida, tsuji ayano