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■Movie: Into the White Night
■Romaji: Byakuyako
■Japanese: 白夜行
■Director: Yoshihiro Fukagawa
■Writer: Keigo Higashino (novel), Yoshihiro Fukagawa, Shingo Irie
■Producer:
■Cinematographer:
■World Premiere: October 25, 2010 (Tokyo International Film Festival)
■Release Date: January 29, 2011
■Runtime:
■Language: Japanese
■Country: Japan

Plot

A pawn shop owner in Osaka is murdered, but due to a lack of conclusive evidence the police lists the man's death as a suicide. Detective Sasagaki, who investigated the case, can't forget the dark eyes of the main suspect's daughter Yukiho (Maki Horikita) and the pawn shop owner's son Ryouji.

As time goes by, more mysterious deaths surround Yukiho & Ryouji. Detective Sasagaki still unable to let go of the pawn shop owner case discovers startling details about Yukiho and Ryouji ...

Notes

1.Based on popular mystery writer Keigo Higashino's story "Byakuyako," published first in Shueisha magazine from 1977 to 1979. "Byakuyako" was then compiled into a best selling novel.

Cast

■Maki Horikita - Yukiho Karasawa
■Kengo Kora - Ryouji Kirihara
■Eiichiro Funakoshi - Junjo Sasagak
■Keiko Toda - Mikiko Kirihara
■Tetsushi Tanaka - Isamu Matsuura
■Nobuo Kyo - Kazunari Shinozuka
■Yurie Midori - Eriko Kawashima
■Kumi Nakamura - Reiko Karasawa
■Urara Awata - Noriko Kurihara
■Yuki Imai - Ryouji Kirihara (10 years old)
■Shiori Fukumoto - Yukiho Karasawa (10 years old)
■Yorie Yamashita

Film Festivals
■2010 (23rd) Tokyo International Film Festival - October 23-31 - Special Screenings *World Premiere

Maki Horikita to star in film adaptation of “Byakuyako”

Author Keigo Higashino’s mystery novels have already inspired several major films, and now another is being added to the list. Today it was announced that Maki Horikita will be starring in the film adaptation of his novel Byakuyako.

The story was originally serialized in the Shueisha literary magazine Shousetsu Subaru for two years from 1997. In 1999, it was released as a compiled novel which went on to sell 1.8 million copies. In 2006, TBS aired an 11-episode drama adapted from the novel which starred Haruka Ayase and Takayuki Yamada.

The two main characters in the story are a boy named Ryoji Kirihara and a girl named Yukiho Karasawa who are each other’s first love. As a kid, Ryoji murdered his father when he discovered he was a pervert who did terrible things to Yukiho. As it turns out, Yukiho’s mother was also responsible. Driven by greed, she forced her own daughter into the clutches of Ryoji’s father. Yukiho, in turn, kills her mother and stages it as a suicide. Having both murdered a parent to protect the other, Ryoji and Yukiho must stick together until the statute of limitations runs out on their crimes, and they’re each willing to take any extreme measures to make sure they never get caught.

Horikita, who will be taking over the Yukiho role from Ayase, has accumulated a large fanbase over her career. Until now, she’s typically played innocent high school girls and has benefited from her casual acting style. This time around, she’ll be challenged with playing the role of a woman whose humanity has been completely warped by a traumatic childhood.

The film is slated for release in early spring 2011. Neither the director or any other casting decisions have been announced yet. More than likely, the actor playing Ryoji will be the next major announcement.

Source: Cinema Today
http://www.nipponcinema.com/blog/maki-horikita-to-star-in-film-adaptation-of-byakuyako