Director Shunji Iwai's latest work "Kyrie no Uta" has been re-edited with a new perspective and chronological order along with unreleased footage! A drama version of "Rojo no Luca" will be broadcast over 5:30 p.m.

■ “I think you can enjoy the story that rushed through like a raging wave at your leisure, as if you were in a museum. Please come and see it!” (Iwai Shunji)

A re-edited version of the film “Kyrie no Uta”, “Rojo no Luca” (10 episodes in total), will be broadcast on the Japanese Movie Channel from July 28th. The poster visual and stills have also been released.

The musical film “Kyrie’s Song” was released in theaters on October 13, 2023 and won the Topic Award at the 47th Japan Academy Awards.

“Kyrie no Uta” is set in four locations – Ishinomaki, Osaka, Obihiro, and Tokyo – and is told in a jumble of chronological order, with stories set in four locations around the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. However, the script that was actually written by director Iwai Shunji himself and used during filming was written in chronological order and even had a different title.

“Luka on the Streets” is a drama version consisting of 10 episodes and over five and a half hours long, which Iwai re-edited little more than a year after the film’s release, based on this script and the initial edited version after filming was completed.

The DVD extras also feature a wealth of previously unreleased footage, including scenes between the main character Kirie, played by Aina the End – who won the Japan Academy Award for Best New Actor and the Hochi Film Newcomer Award for her role in the film – and Natsuhiko, played by Hokuto Matsumura (SixTONES), as well as a scene of Kirie singing the song “Gen’ei,” which was cut from the main film.

A new work has been born that meets the expectations of passionate fans, winning the Topical Award, the only award at the Japan Academy Awards that can be voted for by the general audience.

■ Story
A young girl named Ruka (Aina the End), who was living a wandering life in Osaka, is taken in by an elementary school teacher, Fumi (Kuroki Haru). As she grows up, Ruka lives in Obihiro, Hokkaido with her sister’s boyfriend, Natsuhiko (Matsumura Hokuto), and develops a friendship with a high school girl, Maori (Hirose Suzu), but the fate that awaits her is always cruel.
After arriving in Tokyo, Luka becomes a musician and starts singing on the street under the name “Kirie”. There, he meets Maori again, who calls himself “Ikko” and survives in Tokyo with ever-changing cosplay and relationships with men. Ishinomaki, Osaka, Obihiro, Tokyo… A magnificent song lyric poem spun by Luka, who lives his life to the fullest despite being tossed about by fate.

■ Comment from Director Shunji Iwai
“Luke on the Street” is a detailed depiction of each episode of “Kyrie no Uta”, and although the story goes in the same direction, it is a work that gives a completely different experience and feeling after reading it. The music has also been edited to be as long as possible. I hope you will be able to enjoy the story that rushed through like a raging wave at your own pace, as if you were in a museum. Please take a look!

Information

Japanese Movie Channel“Luke on the Streets” (10 episodes)
July 28th (Sun) 18:30-24:40

Cast: Aina the End, Hokuto Matsumura, Haru Kuroki, Suzu Hirose
Nijiro Murakami, Yuya Matsuura, Hideyuki Kasahara, Soshina (Shimofuri Myojo), Hana Yayama, Tabito Nanao, Robert Campbell, Ai Otsuka, Yuko Ando
Yosuke Eguchi, Michiko Yoshise, Shinji Higuchi, Megumi Okina, Miyoko Asada, Tatsuya Ishii, Kosuke Toyohara, Marika Matsumoto, Yukiya Kitamura
Original story, script and direction: Shunji Iwai
Music: Takeshi Kobayashi

“Luke on the Streets” production site
https://www.nihon-eiga.com/osusume/rojo-no-ruka/

“Kyrie no Uta” production site
https://kyrie-movie.com/