Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name (Japanese: 私立探偵 濱マイク 名前のない森, Hepburn: Shiritsu Tantei Hama Maiku Namae no Nai Mori) is a 2002 Japanese film directed by Shinji Aoyama, starring Masatoshi Nagase.[1][2] The film is a feature-length cut of an episode of the television series The Private Detective Mike shown at film festivals and released theatrically.
Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name | |
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Japanese | 私立探偵 濱マイク 名前のない森 |
Directed by | Shinji Aoyama |
Written by | Shinji Aoyama |
Based on | Mike Hama trilogy by Kaizo Hayashi |
Starring | Masatoshi Nagase |
Cinematography | Masaki Tamura |
Edited by | Yuji Oshige |
Music by | Dowser |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 71 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Cast
- Masatoshi Nagase as Mike Hama
- Kyōka Suzuki as Doctor
- Nene Otsuka as No. 29
- Yoshio Harada as Client
- Masashi Yamamoto as Yamamoto
- Yuriko Kikuchi as No. 17
Production
Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name was originally one episode in the 12-part television series The Private Detective Mike which aired on Yomiuri TV in 2002.[3] Each episode was 45–55 minutes long and shot by a different director, including such well-known filmmakers as Alex Cox, Shinobu Yaguchi, and Isao Yukisada.[3] All of them featured the character Mike Hama, a detective who was the center of a trilogy of films directed by Kaizo Hayashi.[3] Aoyama's episode was shot in super 16 mm and blown up to 35 mm for release in theatres.[4]
Release
The film was screened at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2002[5] and at the Cleveland International Film Festival in 2003.[6] The film was received a theatrical release in France under the title La forêt sans nom.[citation needed]
Reception
Todd Brown of Twitch Film described the film as "a strikingly composed and completely open ended study of the nature of desire and identity." He said, "[Shinji] Aoyama's stylistic flourishes are in full effect and Masatoshi Nagase gives an excellent, multi layered performance as Hama himself."[7] On the other hand, Time Out London's review was less favourable.[8] The reviewers at FilmBizarro found the movie enjoyable, and noted that watching it "will lead to interesting conversations between viewers".[9]