Picture Bride

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Picture Bride Photos

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Movie Info

The struggles of a young Japanese who leaves her home to marry an stranger are chronicled in this historical drama based on true stories. Picture brides were Japanese women contracted to marry Japanese sugar-cane laborers working in Hawaii. The couple would agree to marry based on the photos they sent to one another. Riyo, an orphaned 17-year old, sails from Yokohama to Hawaii to marry Matsuji. She is appalled to see that Matsuji sent her an old photograph and that he is 25 years older than she. Angered, the spunky bride refuses to sleep with her new husband. She is however obligated to work on the plantation. The miserable girl finds solace with her new friend Kana, a young mother. Riyo decides she will earn her way back to Japan even though, at only sixty five cents per day, it could take years to save the $300 for the return fare. She meets more obstacles and continues to stay away from her husband until a tragedy befalls Kana. This serves to bring the two together and leads Riyo to accept her new life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Rating:

PG-13
Genre:

Art House & International, Drama
Directed By:

Kayo Hatta
In Theaters:

Apr 28, 1995 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jun 1, 2004
Runtime:

94 minutes
Studio:

Miramax

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Cast

Youki Kudoh
as Riyo

Akira Takayama
as Matsuji

Tamlyn Tomita
as Kana

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
as Kanzaki

Toshiro Mifune
as The Benshi

Yôko Sugi
as Aunt Sode

Yuki Kudoh

Christianne Mays

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Critic Reviews for Picture Bride

All Critics (11) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (2)

The film is poorly directed, but it deals with a rare issue, picture brides circa 1918, and is made by an insider, an Asian-American, which is a plus.

Jun 12, 2007 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Has a nifty swan song by the great Toshiro Mifune, but the rest of the film is pretty, underwritten snooze.

Dec 29, 2003 | Rating: 2/5

Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online
Sturdy story about the resilience of immigrants.

Aug 30, 2002 | Full Review…

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
The characters are disarming and the film itself is quite engrossing.

Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…

Chris Hicks
Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

View All Critic Reviews (11)

Audience Reviews for Picture Bride

Jan 11, 2008

The last time I saw this movie was a couple of months back, and the first was in high school. This is a tremendous movie! It details a life of a young Japanese woman who becomes a "picture bride" to a sugar-cane field worker in Hawaii. The movie details their arrangement, marriage, and life together. Tamlyn Tomita stars in this movie, and incredibly shines! Great movie!

Leo L Super Reviewer