Tae Kimura to star in the big-screen adaptation of Natsuo Kirino's "Tokyo Island"

by Chris MaGee

I think I've mentioned it more than a couple times that I thought Tae Kimura's performance in Ryosuke Hashiguchi's "All Around Us" was pure genius. I was so happy to see that she picked up an armful of awards for it last year, and I'm even more happy to see that she is continuing to work in interesting and challenging projects. The latest is a big screen adaptation of mystery author Natsuo Kirino's 2008 Tanizaki Prize-winning novel "Tokyo Island (Tokyo-jima)". The book has been described by some critics as "a Japanese 'Lord of the Flies'" as it follows a 40-something woman named Kiyoko, the only female inhabitant of an island otherwise populated by young shipwrecked men in their 20's, as she uses everything at her disposal to climb to the top of this isolated society.

At the helm of this film is 90's wunderkind Makoto Shinozaki, probably best known for his 1995 writing and directing debut "Okaeri". Shinozaki and Kimura have just started filming "Tokyo Island" on Okinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture with the film slated for a 2010 release. I, like a lot of people, read Kirino's 1997 novel "Out" and was duly impressed, so I can definitely say I'm looking forward to this.

Thanks to CinemaCafe.net for the word on this project.