100 Yen Love

"Ando is that rare performer worthy of comparison to Japan's all-time
　greatest actor, Toshiro Mifune."
"That's as it should be for a film about recognizing treasure where no
　one else thought to look, hiding among the aisles of a bargain store."
　―Peter Debruge, Variety

"The best performance of (Ando's) so-far brilliant career."
　―Mark Schilling, The Japan Times

-INTRODUCTION-

　In 2012 the Shunan Film Festival established the Yusaku Matsuda Screenplay Award, named after the legendary late film actor who hailed from the festival's prefecture of Yamaguchi. Singled out from over 150 submissions from Japan and overseas, the inaugural year's Grand Prize was awarded to Shin Adachi's screenplay 100 Yen Love. A jury comprising respected actors, producers, and writers praised Adachi's robust work for its universal theme of relationship setbacks and reconciliation, as well as its head-on portrayal of human strength and weakness. 100 Yen Love is now a much-awaited feature film, directed by Masaharu Take.

　The lead role of “Ichiko” called for an actress who could handle both intense boxing scenes and charged love scenes. From over 700 audition requests, the role went to Sakura Ando (Penance, Love Exposure). Playing opposite Ando in the role of Yuji, a pro boxer who's reached his age limit, is popular and in-demand performer Hirofumi Arai (Parasyte, The Eternal Zero). Lending strong support to the cast are several veterans connected with Yusaku Matsuda's filmography, including Toshie Negishi, Osamu Shigematsu and Yozaburo Ito.

　Director Masaharu Take, who recently won acclaim for 2014's Unsung Hero, shot 100 Yen Love in the suburbs of Kanto and in Yusaku Matsuda's home turf of Yamaguchi. The cast follows in the great actor's footsteps to fill 100 Yen Love with soul and passion!

-STORY-

　32-year-old Ichiko (Sakura Ando) lives at home with her parents, passing the days in self-indulgent grunginess. Ichiko's recently divorced younger sister Fumiko has moved back home with her young son. One day, after a particularly heated argument, Ichiko charges out of the house for good. With few employment options to support herself, Ichiko works the night shift at a 100 yen shop (dollar store). On her way home each day she passes a boxing gym where she watches Yuji Kano (Hirofumi Arai) silently practice, developing a crush on him. The pair starts seeing each other and things change for Ichiko... At last, the bell rings and longtime loser Ichiko's rematch with life begins!

-DIRECTOR-

Masaharu Take

　Born in 1967, Aichi Prefecture. Made his feature directing debut in 2007 with Boy Meets Pusan, followed by the Cafe Daikanyama series (08), Hanamuko wa 18-sai (08), Cafe Seoul (09), Eden (12), Mongolian Baseball (13) and Unsung Hero (14).