TOKYO — “The Great Passage,” Yuya Ishii’s drama about a nerdy editor (Ryuhei Matsuda) who spends decades diligently bringing a dictionary to publication, while quietly romancing his landlady’s granddaughter, took six prizes at the 37th Japan Academy Awards ceremony on Friday.
Released in April of last year by Asmik Ace and Shochiku, the pic earned $8 million domestically, while scooping a long list of awards and honors, including selection as Japan’s nominee for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
Among its Japan Academy Awards were Best Picture, Best Director (Ishii), Best Actor (Matsuda), Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Sound.
Yoko Maki was named Best Actress for her perf in Tatsushi Omori’s drama “The Ravine of Goodbye” as the lover of a man who becomes entangled in a murder investigation. She also scooped a Best Supporting Actress prize as the mother of a boy who was swapped at birth in Hirokazu Kore’eda’s “Like Father, Like Son.” Lily Franky, who played her husband in the same pic, took Best Supporting Actor honors.
Best Animation went to Hayao Miyazaki’s WW2-themed “The Wind Rises,” which was also up for a Best Animated Feature Oscar. The Best Foreign Film was “Les Miserables.”
