Yoji Yamada's "The Yellow Handkerchief" goes from the big screen to the small screen

by Chris MaGee

Some stories just get told again and again... and again. The latest example of life of the remake mill is an upcoming TV adaptation of Yoji Yamada's Japanese Academy Award-winning drama "The Yellow Handkerchief". The original (above left) starred Ken Takakura as an ex-con who leaves prison to travel through Hokkaido to reunite with his estranged wife. This new TV version, that will be broadcast on NTV in the fall, will star Hiroshi Abe (Still Walking) in Takakura's role. Abe will be joined by Gaku Hamada and Maki Horikita as the two strangers that join the ex-con on his journey.

This isn't the first time that "The Yellow Handkerchief" has been remade. In 2008 Indian film-maker Udayan Prasad shot his own version of "The Yellow Handkerchief" starring William Hurt, Maria Bello, Kristen Stewart and John Gregory Willard. What sets this new NTV remake apart from Prasad's is that Yoji Yamada himself is responsible for writing the script, apparently the first time in 21 years that the veteran director has written for television.

Thanks to Tokyograph for this news.