Purpobandit
- Oct 31, 2022
- 2 min read

Motherhood - TIFF 2022

The Japanese film Bosei (母性) is one of the latest from prolific director Ryûichi Hiroki, who has no less than four releases in 2022. The film is also known in English as Motherhood or Maternal Instinct, depending on where you do your online research. It had a special early screening at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.

L to R: Mei Nagano, Erika Toda, Ryuichi Hiroki

The movie had its World Premiere earlier in the month at the Vancouver International Film Festival and is based on Kanae Minato’s 2012 novel of the same name. It will be officially released in Japan on November 23rd.

The film highlights the connection between a mother and her daughter and the secrets they keep inside, focusing on one incident told through two perspectives. Another significant feature of the film is the portrayal of a connection between mother and daughter in what some people may find disturbing. The novel itself was considered shocking and controversial upon its release and went on to sell 1.1 million copies.

The mother and daughter are played by Erika Toda and Mei Nagano who play “Rumiko” and “Sayaka” respectively. Toda and Nagano were last seen together as police partners in the 2021 TV series “Police In A Pod.” This time their relationship on screen is vastly different.

Erika Toda, who has steadily been working in film and TV since the mid-2000’s found taking the role of a complex and almost dangerous character a challenge but was eventually convinced by the production team that she was perfect to play the part. She accepted and wanted to portray that same passion on screen.

Mei Nagano started her career with child roles and was just recently nominated for a Japanese Academy Award Prize for Best Actress in the film “And So The Baton Is Passed.” She said she was excited to co-star along Toda again and looked forward to interpreting Minato’s novel for the big screen.

Mao Daichi and Junko Takahata add to the proceedings by playing Rumiko’s mother and mother-in-law respectively. The cast is rounded out by Masaki Miura (Rumiko’s husband), Yuri Nakamura (Rumiko’s best friend) and Rio Yamashita (Rumiko’s sister-in-law).

Details:

MOTHERHOOD

Release date: November 23rd

Based on the novel by Kanae Minato “Motherhood” (Shincho Bunko)

Cast: Erika Toda, Mei Nagano, Masaki Miura, Yuri Nakamura, Rio Yamashita, Junko Takahata, Mao Daichi

Director: Ryuichi Hiroki

Screenplay: Anne Horizumi

Running Time: 116 mins.

Music: Kotoringo

Executive Producer: Daisuke Sekiguchi

Production: “Motherhood” Film Partners

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures