From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2008 Japanese film
Children of the Dark
(
闇の子供たち
,
Yami no Kodomotachi
)
, also known as
Children of Darkness
, is a 2008 Japanese crime film written and directed by
Junji Sakamoto
based upon the book by the same name by
Yang Sok-il
. The film premiered on August 2, 2008 in
Japan
and stars
Y?suke Eguchi
,
Aoi Miyazaki
and
Satoshi Tsumabuki
. Due to its content,
Bangkok International Film Festival
pulled
Children of the Dark
from its 2008 film lineup, stating that it was “not appropriate for Thai society.”
[1]
Cast
[
edit
]
Production
[
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]
Filming for
Children of the Dark
took place in
Bangkok
despite initial problems securing a filming permit for
Thailand
, who denied Sakamoto's attempts to procure one.
[1]
Actor Y?suke Eguchi had some difficulties with the script,
[2]
as he did not speak
Thai
and did not have enough time to learn beyond a few basic words in the language.
[3]
As a result, Eguchi had to learn the script phonetically, and he wrote the each script line's pronunciation in
katakana
before memorizing the lines.
[3]
After completing the film, Eguchi stated that he began to see things "deeper", as he "saw slums nestled among high-rise buildings in Bangkok, where wealth exists alongside the poor and vulnerable."
[3]
Children of the Dark
was initially accepted into the Bangkok International Film Festival, who intended to show the film at their 2008 festival, only for festival sponsors
Tourism Authority of Thailand
and the
Federation of National Film Association
to pull the film after learning of the movie's content.
[1]
Sakamoto offered to edit the film in order for it to be shown, only for the festival programmers to decline as they wanted the movie to remain uncut.
[4]
Reception
[
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]
The Japan Times
gave the film three out of five stars, questioning Sakamoto's decision to insert a twist in the film's ending as they felt that it was the "one false note in Sakamoto’s strongest, bravest and most debate-worthy film in years."
[5]
Richard Kuipers of
Variety
gave
Children of the Dark
a positive review, and described it as "a compelling, disturbing thriller set in the twilight world of child prostitution in Thailand."
[6]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Rithdee, Kong (September 19, 2008).
"Bangkok fest removes 'Children'
"
.
Variety
.
- ^
Ghosh, Nirmal (September 24, 2008).
"Children of the Dark stays in the dark"
.
The Straits Times
. Archived from
the original
on July 17, 2013
. Retrieved
July 17,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
Nakamura, Noriko (July 13, 2008).
"Yosuke Eguchi Descends Into Thailand's Dangerous Side"
.
Asahi Shimbun
.
- ^
Gershon, Joel (24 September 2008).
"Director offered edit on pic cut from Bangkok fest"
. Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
8 January
2014
.
- ^
Schilling, Mark
(August 1, 2008).
"
'Yami no Kodomotachi'
"
.
The Japan Times
.
- ^
Kuipers, Richard (November 7, 2008).
"Review: "Children of the Dark"
"
. Variety.
External links
[
edit
]