Hula Girls

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Movie: Hula Girls
Romaji: Hula garu
Japanese: フラガール
Director: Sang-il Lee
Writer: Sang-il Lee, Daisuke Habara
Producer: Hitomi Ishihara
Cinematography: Hideo Yamamoto
Release Date: September 23, 2006
Runtime: 108 min.
Genre: Drama
Studio: Cinequanon
Distributor: Cinequanon
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot

In the cold rural town of Iawaki City in Northeastern Japan, the Nakago Mine is about to close, laying off 2,000 workers. The lifeblood of the cold northern town revolved around the coal mine and the residents there have worked in the Nakago Mine for generations. The workers were furious when they first learned about the company’s plan to close the mine and just shocked to learn what the company planned for the town’s future. The Joban Mine company plans to take advantage of the area’s other natural resource, hot springs, to build a grand Hawaiian themed based vacation resort.

The Joban Mine company now needs to recruit some of the daughter’s of the coal mine workers to become Hula dancers and possibly become ambassadors for their Hawaiian themed vacation resort. A major problem is that none of the girls in the town know anything about Hula dancing and the parents are weary of their daughters learning such a bold dance. Will the town say “Sayonara” or “Aloha” to the company’s plans?

Notes

Based on the true story of Joban coal mine in which dwindling production caused the company to develop a radical "Hawaii Paradise" tourism plan in 1964.

Cast



Yu Aoi	Yasuko Matsuyuki	Etsushi Toyokawa
Kimiko Tanikawa	Madoka Hirayama	Yojiro Tanikawa



Shizuyo Yamasaki	Sumiko Fuji	Ittoku Kishibe
Sayuri Kumano	Chiyo Tanikawa	Norio Yoshimoto

Additional Cast Members:

Eri Tokunaga - Sanae Kimura (hula girl)
Shoko Ikezu - Hatsuko Sasaki (hula girl)
Ami Ikenaga - Junko Soma (hula girl)
Natsuhi Ueno - Hiroko Miyata (hula girl)
Hiroki Miyake - Mitsuo Igari
Susumu Terajima - Ishida
Hiroshi Okochi - union leader for miners
Daikichi Sugawara - Koji Wakamatsu
Katsumi Takahashi - Seiji Kimura
Hidekazu Mashima - Toru
Meikyo Yamada

Trailers

Image Gallery

Awards

2006 (19th) Nikkan Sports Film Awards - December 28, 2006
- "Best Picture"
- "Best Actress" (Yasuko Matsuyuki)
- "Best Supporting Actress" (Sumiko Fuji)
- "Best Newcomer" (Yu Aoi)
2006 (49th) Blue Ribbon Awards - February 13, 2007
- "Best Picture"
- "Best Actress" (Yu Aoi)
- "Best Supporting Actress" (Sumiko Fuji)
2007 (30th) Japan Academy Prize - February 16, 2007
- "Picture of the Year"
- "Director of the Year"
- "Screenplay of the Year"
- "Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role" (Yu Aoi)