Poppoya (鉄道員, Poppoya[a]), also known as The Railroad Man, is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. It was Japan‘s submission to the 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.[4] It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.[5] The film was the third-highest-grossing film of the year in Japan.
Synopsis
A railway station master at a dying end-of-the-line village in Hokkaido is haunted by memories of his dead wife and daughter. When the line serving the village is scheduled for closure, an erstwhile colleague offers him a job at a resort hotel, but he is emotionally unable to part with his career as a railwayman. His life takes a turn when he meets a young woman with an interest in trains who resembles his daughter.
Cast
- Ken Takakura: Otomatsu Satō
- Shinobu Otake: Shizue Satō
- Ryōko Hirosue: Yukiko Satō
- Hidetaka Yoshioka: Hideo Sugiura
- Masanobu Ando: Toshiyuki Yoshioka
- Ken Shimura: Hajime Yoshioka
- Hirotarō Honda : Miner
- Tomoko Naraoka: Mune Katō
- Yoshiko Tanaka: Akiko Sugiura
- Nenji Kobayashi: Senji Sugiura
See also
- Cinema of Japan
- List of submissions to the 72nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Notes
- ^ The kanji spelling is from the word tetsudōin (鉄道員; railway worker), which is also the Japanese title of the Italian film The Railroad Man. The reading, Poppoya, comes from poppo (Japanese for a steam locomotive sound effect) and ya (屋; dealer; seller).
References
- ^ Infobox data from 鉄道員 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 16 May 2009. and Poppoya (1999) at IMDb
- ^ “邦画興行収入ランキング”. SF MOVIE DataBank (in Japanese). General Works. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ “Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) – Japan”. World Bank. 1999. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ “List of Japanese films nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film” (in Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
- ^ “Awards for Poppoya (1999)” (in Japanese). Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
External links
- Poppoya at IMDb
- 鉄道員 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
- “POPPOYA TETSUDO-EN”. Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
- 鉄道員. walkerplus.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 27 March 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
- 鉄道員（ぽっぽや）(1999). allcinema.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 May 2009.
- “Variety Japan” 鉄道員 ぽっぽや (in Japanese). Variety Japan. Retrieved 16 May 2009.