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RUNTIME
Did you know
Tight 70-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Yah Chayka!
2008 1h 10m JA
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Renowned Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa teams with former "rock chick" Wakako Kaku to craft this pensive love story told almost entirely in still photographs. After steering a suicidal man away from the brink of despair, an astronomical observatory worker teaches him her favorite watchword, "Yah Chakya!" ("I, Seagull"). The phrase had once been spoken by the first female cosmonaut, and was the call-sign for the Soviet spacecraft Vostok. But for this woman, the word has taken on greater meaning; not only is it a greeting, but a secret handshake and a symbol of the universe as well. Upon learning the phrase, the man finally finds the strength to go on living.
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”
Cast
Teruyuki Kagawa
Machiko Ono
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Shuntaro Tanikawa
- Writers
- Shuntaro Tanikawa, Kaku Wakako
- 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 🍿
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Shuntaro Tanikawa directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Tight 70-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
- 2Released 18 years ago.
- 3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
- 4Teruyuki Kagawa and Machiko Ono carry the top of the cast.
The technical file
- Runtime
- 70 min · 1h 10m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- JA
Also by
Shuntaro Tanikawa
Production companies
Who made it
- PU
Pug Point Japan
JP
Key crew
- CinematographyShuto Mikio
- ProducerMotohiro Hatanaka
- MusicMaruo Megumi
- ProducerNakamura Makoto
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- based on song, poem or rhyme
Release history · US
When it landed
- Premiere2008-10-15· London Film Festival
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