Become a Member

to watch this film, and all films, for just $6.99 / month.   Otherwise you may purchase a

Yuki ni negau koto (What the Snow Brings)

113 minutes | Family | 2005 | Japan

Dramas / Foreign / IndieFlix Official Selections

Please log in or sign up to leave comments.
Tagline

When you’ve lost everything, is there a place you can go back to?

Synopsis

Manabu Yazaki, who had big dreams of success in Tokyo, loses his high-class lifestyle as well as his family and returns home to the Hokkaido heartland in midwinter. There his elder brother Takeo manages a stable for “Banei horserace”, a sleigh-pulling race unique to Hokkaido. Their long overdue reunion exposes the gap between them even more. Takeo does not let his brother met their aging mother who is living in a nursing home.

However, while he watches Manabu interact with the sometimes quirky stable workers and the horses as they face the challenges of racing day in and day out, Takeo decides to have his brother met their mother. Gradually the two men develop an understanding between them.

In the end, Manabu puts his all into taking care of the horse that was supposed to be killed for not taking home the prize money in its rode to recovery. For Manabu, this becomes his chance to “reset” his own life and a hope for his new start.

Director's Statement

Masterfully directed, Director Kichitaro Negishi captures the idyllic and relaxed setting of Hokkaido while subtly building emotional momentum centering around hope, acceptance, forgiveness, and redemption.

Directed by: Kichitaro Negishi
Written by: Masato Kato
Sho Narumi
Produced by: Masako Tanabe
Naoki Kai
Masaaki Wakasugi

Cast

Manabu Yazaki: Yûsuke Iseya
Takeo Yazaki: Kôichi Satô
Haruko Tanaka: Kyôko Koizumi
Makie Shudo: Kazue Fukiishi
Yuhara: Tetsuya Deguchi
Tamotsu Fujimaki: Denden
Ogasawara: Teruyuki Kagawa
Shizuko Yazaki: Mitsuko Kusabue
Tominaga: Ryuta Okamoto
Kurokawa: Kippei Shiina
Ozeki: Masahiko Tsugawa
Tetsuo Kato: Hiroshi Yamamoto
Tanba: Tsutomu Yamazaki

Crew

Editor: Akimasa Kawashima
Cinematographer: Hiroshi Machida
Music: Goro Ito
Art Director: Fumio Ogawa
Sound: Osamu Onodera
Gaffer: Taro Kimura

"What the Snow Brings" was the big winner at the 2005 Tokyo Festival, taking home the Grand Prix, as well as the Director, Actor and Audience Awards.

  • Kichitaro Negishi

    Director

    Kichitaro Negishi