W's Tragedy Explained

W's Tragedy
Director:	Shinichirō Sawai
Music:	Joe Hisaishi^[1]
Distributor:	Toei Company
Runtime:	108 minutes
Country:	Japan
Language:	Japanese

is a 1984 Japanese film directed by Shinichirō Sawai, based on the novel by Shizuko Natsuki (published in English under the title Murder at Mt. Fuji). At the 9th Japan Academy Prize it won three awards and received three other nominations.

Plot

Natsuki's original book W no Higeki, the story of a rich family torn apart by the murder of their patriarch, and their heiress being accused of the crime, becomes a play and is acted out by a troupe of actors in Osaka. The role of the heroine is contended for by young Shizuka Mita (Yakushimaru), who dreams of fame and fortune. Shizuka is taken under the wing of famous actress Sho Hatori (Y. Mita), whose rich patron died in her arms one night, and who agrees to let Shizuka stand in for her. As the play is acted out, Shizuka realizes that many scenes in the play begin to have parallels with real life...

The film takes the form of a story within a story, in which the original book's characters are acted out by the film's characters.

Cast

• Hiroko Yakushimaru as Shizuka Mita, who plays rich heiress Mako Watsuji on stage
• Yoshiko Mita as Sho Hatori, who plays Mako's mother Yoshie Watsuji
• Masanori Sera as Akio Morita, Shizuka's boyfriend and mentor off stage
• Kunihiko Mitamura as Jun Godai, who plays investigator Ukyo Nakazato
• Miho Takagi as Kaori Kikuchi, the actress Shizuka relegated from the Mako role
• Ken Nishida as Koji Shirota, who plays Shohei Mazaki, the victim's doctor
• Kōjirō Kusanagi as Kaichi Kiuchi, who plays Shigeru Watsuji, Mako's grand-uncle

Theme song

• "Woman (W no Higeki) Yori", original lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto, vocals by Hiroko Yakushimaru.

This song has also been covered by Yumi Matsutoya, Yūko Andō, Akina Nakamori and Ken Hirai, the latter version being used for the 2012 iteration of the book's story into a TV drama.

Awards and nominations

9th Japan Academy Prize^[2]

• Won: Best Director - Shinichirō Sawai
• Won: Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Yoshiko Mita
• Won: Best Sound Recording - Fumio Hashimoto
• Nominated: Best Picture
• Nominated: Best Screenplay - Haruhiko Arai and Shinichirō Sawai
• Nominated: Best Actress - Hiroko Yakushimaru

27th Blue Ribbon Awards^[3]

• Won: Best Actress - Hiroko Yakushimaru

10th Hochi Film Award^[4]

• Won: Best Supporting Actress - Yoshiko Mita

7th Yokohama Film Festival^[5]

• 3rd Best Film

Notes and References

1. https://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0135043/fullcredits W's Tragedy (1984) - Full cast and crew
2. Web site: http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/?t=9 . ja:第9回 日本アカデミー賞 . 2009-11-10. Japan Academy Prize. ja.
3. Web site: http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/b_award/1984/. ja:ブルーリボン賞ヒストリー. 2010-03-29. ja. Cinema Hochi. https://web.archive.org/web/20090207075710/http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/b_award/1984/. 2009-02-07. dead.
4. Web site: http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/h_award/1985/ . ja:報知映画賞ヒストリー . 2009-11-10 . Cinema Hochi . ja . https://web.archive.org/web/20120306194642/http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/h_award/1985/ . 2012-03-06 . dead .
5. Web site: http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/07-1985/07_1985_best10.html. ja:１９８５年度 日本映画ベストテン. 2009-11-10. Yokohama Film Festival. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20100306223309/http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/07-1985/07_1985_best10.html. 2010-03-06. dead.