Nankyoku Monogatari
Encyclopedia
is a 1983 Japanese film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara
and starring Ken Takakura
. Its plot centers on the 1958 ill-fated Japan
ese scientific expedition to the South Pole
, its dramatic rescue from the impossible weather conditions on the return journey, the relationship between the scientists and their loyal and hard-working Karafuto Dogs
, particularly the lead dogs Taro and Jiro, and fates of the 15 dogs left behind to fend for themselves.
, the film is available on DVD in Japan (Japanese subtitles) and Hong Kong (Chinese and English subtitles). The original electronic score was created by Greek musician Vangelis
, who had recently written music for Chariots of Fire
and Blade Runner
. The soundtrack is available worldwide on CD-audio as Antarctica
.
Nankyoku Monogataris plot was adapted into the 2006 Disney movie Eight Below
.
In 2011, a Japanese drama titled Nankyoku Tairiku centers around Japan's first expedition to Antarctica in 1958.
Sōya
to take over from the 11-man First Cross-Winter Expedition. Due to the extreme weather conditions in Antarctica, Sōya could not get near enough to the Showa Base and they decided not to proceed with the stay-over.
The First Cross-Winter Expedition retreated by helicopter, but they had to leave 15 Sakhalin Huskies
at the unmanned Showa Base. The dogs were left chained at the base, as the team thought that they would be returning, but they did not due to fuel shortages. The team was worried about the dogs, as the weather was extremely cold and only one week of food was available.
Meanwhile, eight of the fifteen sled dogs managed to break loose from their chains (Riki, Anko, Shiro, Jakku, Deri, Kuma, Taro, and Jiro), but the other seven were not so fortunate. As they journeyed across the frozen wilderness of Antarctica, the dogs were forced to survive on their own feces, hunting penguins and seals
on the ice shelves and even eating the excrement of seal for food. As months passed, several of the dogs died or disappeared in the glacier. Riki was fatally injured by an orca
while trying to protect Taro and Jiro. Anko and Deri fell through the ice and drowned in freezing waters. Shiro fell off a cliff to his death, and Jakku disappeared in the wilderness.
Eleven months later, on 14 January 1959, Kitagawa, one of the dog handlers in the first expedition, returned with the Third Cross-Winter Expedition, wanting to bury his beloved dogs. He, along with the two dog-handlers Ushioda and Ochi, recovered the frozen corpses of seven dogs, but were even more surprised when they discovered that eight of their dogs had broken loose. To everyone's surprise, they were greeted warmly at the base by two dogs, Taro and Jiro, brothers who were born in Antarctica.
It is still unknown how and why the brothers survived, because an average husky can only live in such conditions for about one month. In the movie, the director used the data available, together with his imagination, to reconstruct how the dogs struggled with the elements and survived.
. The dogs in the film were sired by Kuma, a Sakhalin from Furen and were born in Wakanai, Hokkaido, not Antarctica.
. The film was a big hit in Japan, becoming the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1983, earning ¥5.9 billion in distribution income.
The breed of dog also became briefly popular. However, concerns were raised that the dogs who took part in the filming might have been subjected to extreme conditions to obtain the degree of realism involved. The American Humane Association
withheld its "No Animals Were Harmed" disclaimer, rating the film "Unacceptable" due to what it regarded as deliberate cruelty on the set. The director responded that the emotions shown by the dogs during the film were painstakingly captured and then edited into the relevant parts. In order to recreate the death scenes the dogs were carefully anesthetized. The parts where the dogs drowned or fell were done in the studio and blue-screened with the actual filming location. The blood on the dogs was fake. It remained unclear whether the deaths of the prey animals (a seabird and a seal) were also simulated.
. It was recorded at Vangelis' Nemo Studios
, in London, UK, by sound engineer Raine Shine. The album was released worldwide (including Japan) as Antarctica
.
Koreyoshi Kurahara
was a Japanese screenwriter and director. He is perhaps best known for directing Antarctica , which won several awards and was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival...
and starring Ken Takakura
Ken Takakura
, born , is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles.Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka...
. Its plot centers on the 1958 ill-fated Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese scientific expedition to the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
, its dramatic rescue from the impossible weather conditions on the return journey, the relationship between the scientists and their loyal and hard-working Karafuto Dogs
Sakhalin Husky
The Sakhalin Husky, also known as the , is a breed of dog used as a sled dog.-Appearance:This breed is a spitz type, related to other Japanese dogs such as the Akita Inu...
, particularly the lead dogs Taro and Jiro, and fates of the 15 dogs left behind to fend for themselves.
, the film is available on DVD in Japan (Japanese subtitles) and Hong Kong (Chinese and English subtitles). The original electronic score was created by Greek musician Vangelis
Vangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
, who had recently written music for Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
and Blade Runner
Blade Runner (soundtracks)
The Blade Runner soundtrack was composed by Vangelis for Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner. It is mostly a dark, melodic combination of classical composition and synthesizers which mirrors the futuristic film noir envisioned by Scott. Several different albums have been made, some including...
. The soundtrack is available worldwide on CD-audio as Antarctica
Antarctica (Vangelis album)
- Personnel :* Vangelis – arrangements, all instruments and producer* Raine Shine – engineer...
.
Nankyoku Monogataris plot was adapted into the 2006 Disney movie Eight Below
Eight Below
Eight Below is a 2006 American adventure film directed by Frank Marshall and written by David DiGilio. It stars Paul Walker, Jason Biggs, Bruce Greenwood and Moon Bloodgood...
.
In 2011, a Japanese drama titled Nankyoku Tairiku centers around Japan's first expedition to Antarctica in 1958.
Plot
In February 1958, the Second Cross-Winter Expedition for the Japanese Antarctic Surveying Team rode on the icebreakerIcebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
Sōya
Soya (icebreaker)
The ' is a Japanese museum ship that previously served as an icebreaker and patrol boat, and was the first Japanese ship to take part in an Antarctic research expedition.-Construction:...
to take over from the 11-man First Cross-Winter Expedition. Due to the extreme weather conditions in Antarctica, Sōya could not get near enough to the Showa Base and they decided not to proceed with the stay-over.
The First Cross-Winter Expedition retreated by helicopter, but they had to leave 15 Sakhalin Huskies
Sakhalin Husky
The Sakhalin Husky, also known as the , is a breed of dog used as a sled dog.-Appearance:This breed is a spitz type, related to other Japanese dogs such as the Akita Inu...
at the unmanned Showa Base. The dogs were left chained at the base, as the team thought that they would be returning, but they did not due to fuel shortages. The team was worried about the dogs, as the weather was extremely cold and only one week of food was available.
Meanwhile, eight of the fifteen sled dogs managed to break loose from their chains (Riki, Anko, Shiro, Jakku, Deri, Kuma, Taro, and Jiro), but the other seven were not so fortunate. As they journeyed across the frozen wilderness of Antarctica, the dogs were forced to survive on their own feces, hunting penguins and seals
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
on the ice shelves and even eating the excrement of seal for food. As months passed, several of the dogs died or disappeared in the glacier. Riki was fatally injured by an orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
while trying to protect Taro and Jiro. Anko and Deri fell through the ice and drowned in freezing waters. Shiro fell off a cliff to his death, and Jakku disappeared in the wilderness.
Eleven months later, on 14 January 1959, Kitagawa, one of the dog handlers in the first expedition, returned with the Third Cross-Winter Expedition, wanting to bury his beloved dogs. He, along with the two dog-handlers Ushioda and Ochi, recovered the frozen corpses of seven dogs, but were even more surprised when they discovered that eight of their dogs had broken loose. To everyone's surprise, they were greeted warmly at the base by two dogs, Taro and Jiro, brothers who were born in Antarctica.
It is still unknown how and why the brothers survived, because an average husky can only live in such conditions for about one month. In the movie, the director used the data available, together with his imagination, to reconstruct how the dogs struggled with the elements and survived.
Cast
- Ken TakakuraKen Takakura, born , is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles.Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka...
as Akira Ushioda - Tsunehiko WataseTsunehiko Wataseis a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 2nd Japan Academy Prize for The Incident and at the 3rd Hochi Film Award for The Incident, Kōtei no inai hachigatsu and The Fall of Ako Castle...
as Kenjirō Ochi - Eiji OkadaEiji OkadaEiji Okada was a Japanese film actor. Okada served in the Japanese army during World War II, and was a miner and traveling salesman before becoming an actor....
as Chief Ozawa - Masako Natsume as Keiko Kitazawa
- Keiko OginomeKeiko Oginomeis a Japanese actress. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 14th Yokohama Film Festival for The Triple Cross. Yōko Oginome is her younger sister.-Filmography:* The Triple Cross * Crest of Betrayal...
as Asako Shimura - Takeshi KusakaTakeshi Kusakais a Japanese actor and seiyū from Toshima, Tokyo. He is the founder of the Shiki Theatre Company.-Films:*Madadayo *Nankyoku Monogatari *Teito Taisen -Television:...
as Morishima Kyōju - Shigeru Kōyama as Horigome Taichō
- Sō Yamamura as Iwakiri Senchō
- Jun Etō as Tokumitsu Taiin
- Kōichi SatōKoichi Satois a Japanese actor.He is the son of veteran Japanese actor Rentarō Mikuni.-Films:*The Last Chushingura *Nobody to watch over me * Shonen Merikensack * The Magic Hour * Smile Seiya no Kiseki...
as Toda Taichō - Shin KishidaShin KishidaShin Kishida was a Japanese actor, best known for his memorable supporting roles in films and television series.-Biography:...
as Kissaten Master - Takeshi Ōbayashi as Nonomiya Taichō
- Shinji Kanai as Ozaki Taichō
Production
The film took over three years to make. It was filmed at the northern tip of HokkaidōHokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
. The dogs in the film were sired by Kuma, a Sakhalin from Furen and were born in Wakanai, Hokkaido, not Antarctica.
- 7 dogs were found dead at the base still chained: Goro, Pesu, Moku, Aka, Kuro, Pochi, Kuma (monbetsu)
- 6 dogs got loose and disappeared: Riki, Anko, Shiro, Jakku, Deri, Kuma (furen)
- 2 survivors left: Taro and Jiro
Release and reception
Nankyoku Monogatari was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival34th Berlin International Film Festival
The 34th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 17 to February 28, 1984.-Jury:* Liv Ullmann * Jules Dassin* Edward Bennett* Manuela Cernat-Gheorghiu* Lana Gogoberidze* Tullio Kezich* Steffen Kuchenreuther...
. The film was a big hit in Japan, becoming the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1983, earning ¥5.9 billion in distribution income.
The breed of dog also became briefly popular. However, concerns were raised that the dogs who took part in the filming might have been subjected to extreme conditions to obtain the degree of realism involved. The American Humane Association
American Humane Association
The American Humane Association is an organization founded in 1877 dedicated to the welfare of animals and children.The AHA's Film and Television Unit has monitored the welfare of animals during the production of films and television programs since 1940. They are the source of the familiar...
withheld its "No Animals Were Harmed" disclaimer, rating the film "Unacceptable" due to what it regarded as deliberate cruelty on the set. The director responded that the emotions shown by the dogs during the film were painstakingly captured and then edited into the relevant parts. In order to recreate the death scenes the dogs were carefully anesthetized. The parts where the dogs drowned or fell were done in the studio and blue-screened with the actual filming location. The blood on the dogs was fake. It remained unclear whether the deaths of the prey animals (a seabird and a seal) were also simulated.
Data
- Producer and Director: Koreyoshi Kurahara
- Release Date: 23 July 1983
- Box office: 5.9 billion yen
- Viewership: c. 8.8 million
- Main actor: Ken TakakuraKen Takakura, born , is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles.Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka...
Original score album
The original score to Nankyoku Monogatari was composed, arranged, produced and performed by Greek artist VangelisVangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
. It was recorded at Vangelis' Nemo Studios
Nemo Studios
Nemo Studios was a recording studio in London, planned, built and used by Greek composer Vangelis in 1975–87. Numerous highlights of Vangelis' career were composed in Nemo, including soundtracks for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire and Roger Donaldson's The...
, in London, UK, by sound engineer Raine Shine. The album was released worldwide (including Japan) as Antarctica
Antarctica (Vangelis album)
- Personnel :* Vangelis – arrangements, all instruments and producer* Raine Shine – engineer...
.