Rinko Kikuchi In 47 Ronin
Movie online media release
Oscar-nominated RINKO KIKUCHI has shown range and depth
with every role she plays.
Landed her first professional role in the Japanese film Ikitai in 1999. Since then, she has displayed her talent as
an actress, starring in critically acclaimed Japanese films such as Hole in the Sky and The Taste of Tea, and continues to gain popularity within Japan’s
film industry. In Universal Pictures, Oscar®-nominated Rinko
Kikuchi, who came to worldwide attention with her stunning performance in Babel
and was most recently seen in Pacific
Rim, discusses her exposure to the legendary tale ’47 Ronin’ : “I’ve known this story since learning about
it at school, but this film will be quite different from versions Japanese
audiences have seen before. The
creatures, sets and characters are totally new.” Brought onto the production to play the
duplicitous Witch, the actress knew there would be challenging days ahead. “My character doesn’t exist in the original
version, but she adds a fantasy element to this story and I had a lot of fun
with it.”
Kikuchi was thrilled to play such a strong role. The actress sums: “It’s fun to play such a wild female.
Carl told me my part would be provocative, sexy and wild. The Witch is a shape-shifter who is
clairvoyant and play tricks on others, but she is not a typical witch. She has the heart of a woman, but she just
follows her instincts.”
Director Carl Rinsch’s
goal has been to show audiences a side to Japan none have ever seen, while
simultaneously paying homage to the country’s cultural traditions. “The Japanese
want to see something new, too,”
Kikuchi adds. “Rather than a traditional story performed and created just by the
Japanese, we would love to see this traditional story from a new angle. This film strikes a perfect balance between
what is universal and something totally creative and new.”
Kikuchi was catapulted onto the international feature film
scene with her Academy Award®-nominated role for Best Performance by
an Actress in a Supporting Role in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel.
Playing the role of young deaf high-schooler Chieko with fervent energy
and commitment, Kikuchi achieved an outstanding reputation around the world for
her dramatic performance. The film
garnered seven Academy Award® nominations, securing Kikuchi’s status
as one of Hollywood’s leading young actresses.
Kikuchi followed up her success with a number of highly
acclaimed international films such as Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom, with Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz; Isabel
Coixet’s Map of the Sounds of Tokyo,
with Serge Lopez; Mikael Håfström’s Shanghai,
with John Cusack and Ken Watanabe; and Anh Hung Tran’s Norwegian Wood, a highly anticipated adaptation of Haruki
Murakami’s international bestselling novel of the same name. Kikuchi hails from
Hadano, Japan, and is a skilled sword fighter as well as an accomplished
motorcyclist and horseback rider. In
2007, she was named one of Variety’s
10 Actors to Watch.
‘’47
RONIN’’ is released and distributed by United
International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corporation.
Showing
JANUARY 2014.
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