I Want to Be a Shellfish

2008 2h 19m JA

🙌

8.3

BANGER

★8.3TMDB · 3

TV MovieWarDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

1944, in the depths of World War II. Toyomatsu Shimizu is a completely typical barber from a remote sea-side town who lives frugally but happily with his wife Fusae and their five-year-old son. Eventually, though, the army beckons and he is drafted. One day an officer on the battle-field orders him to kill a captive U.S. soldier. Although Toyomatsu lacks the spirit to kill the man, and only wounds him in the arm, the victorious U.S. soldiers will not accept this, and Toyomatsu is arrested and tried as a war-criminal. And he receives the cruelest sentence possible...

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Masahiro Nakai
Toyomatsu Shimizu
Yukie Nakama
Fusae Shimizu
Yuki Shibamoto
Toshiko
Masahiko Nishimura
Nemoto
Magi
Shokichi Sakai
Tsubasa Katô
Kenichi
Tetsuya Takeda
Takeuchi
Ainosuke Kataoka
Captain Hidaka

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Katsuo Fukuzawa
Writers: Shinobu Hashimoto
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa, shot by Kosuke Matsushima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joe Hisaishi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hirohide Abe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Masahiro Nakai and Yukie Nakama and Yuki Shibamoto carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1038684 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 3 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Katsuo Fukuzawa directs. Kosuke Matsushima behind the camera. Joe Hisaishi scores. Hirohide Abe cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 18 years ago.
2Directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa, shot by Kosuke Matsushima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Joe Hisaishi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Hirohide Abe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Masahiro Nakai and Yukie Nakama and Yuki Shibamoto carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt1038684 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 3 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.