DVD release - Charisma (Home Vision Entertainment) available on May 17, 2005

In Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Charisma (1999), Koji Yakusho stars as a veteran Tokyo detective named Goro Yabuike who left the city in disgrace after a hostage negotiation took a tragic turn under his watch. Now he finds himself in a remote forest where all the plant life seems to be affected by some sort of disease which has also seeped into the water in the surrounding area. All the trees seem to be dead or near death except for one giant, gnarled tree which stands alone. Some of the villagers believe that this tree must be causing the strange contamination of the others and must be destroyed. Others believe that it should be protected at all costs. Yabuike finds himself caught up in this debate and becomes obsessed with the tree himself, thinking that somehow solving this problem is the key to his own redemption.

Region 1, NTSC, 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. Japanese stereo audio with English subtitles. Features include making-of featurette, interviews, essay by Tom Mes, and trailers.

Available at the following retailer(s) on May 17, 2005: