KARA's Kang Ji Young to make a special appearance in the SBS drama "Let Me Be Your Knight" Following the 2009 financial crash, Waseda University graduate Takeshi lost his job in Tokyo and retreated to his family home in Sendai. While he resumed his role as heir to the family construction company with a diligent attitude, his hidebound father resents that his son left and that at the age of 35 Takeshi is still single. However, wider events will force father and son to overcome their differences as the Otsunahiki, a great tug-of-war featuring thousands of participants, will pull them together in a family tradition just as Takeshi meets Jiheyun, a beautiful Korean doctor on an exchange programme... The ties of family bind people tightly as characters struggle with the push of their own ambitious urges and the pull of family commitments but the Otsunahiki ropes things together in a family drama rich with events and the culture of Sendai, that will tug and the heartstrings of viewers whilst providing to the desire to visit the beautiful and storied region. (Source: OAFF) Edit Translation
- English
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- dansk
- Norsk
- Native Title: 大綱引の恋
- Also Known As: Dai Tsunahiki No Koi , Love and the Grand Tug-of-War
- Director: Sasabe Kiyoshi
- Genres: Romance
Cast & Credits
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![Miura Takahiro in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)]( "Miura Takahiro in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)")
Miura TakahiroArima TakeshiMain Role -
![Kang Ji Young in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)]( "Kang Ji Young in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)")
Kang Ji YoungYo Ji HyunMain Role -
![Higa Manami in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)]( "Higa Manami in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)")
Higa ManamiArima AtsukoSupport Role -
![Ishino Mako in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)]( "Ishino Mako in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)")
Ishino MakoArima FumikoSupport Role -
![Matsumoto Wakana in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)]( "Matsumoto Wakana in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)")
Matsumoto WakanaNakazono NorikoSupport Role -
![Masu Takeshi in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)]( "Masu Takeshi in Love of the Great Tug of War Japanese Movie (2021)")
Masu TakeshiNakazono HaruakiSupport Role
Photos
Reviews
The acting and the production value was great, as it often is with Japanese films -- but this one doesn't have the tight writing I've been accustomed to by other Japanese productions.
The script wasted time on several love stories, but couldn't develop them all, and then proceeded to use cliches for additional drama. Cliches, I might add, for the women only. I was most diappointed by the mother's reason for "retiring", which is one of the most overused trope in films and dramas.
These tired plot points distracted from the two story lines that should have been at the centre of the movie: The love story between Takeshi and Johyun and the preparation for the tug-of-war. It could have been a sweet, community-focused slice-of-life. It could have been a love story of a man who struggles between his own dreams and expectations or between old dreams and new ones.
There were also hints at other stories: A man who's single misstep at high-school overshadows his whole life, a mother whose life has been dedicated to family and the family business, a divorced single mother who constantly is at odds with a sexist society; the list could go on and on.
And even though the film took the time to explain about the tug-of-war in several dialogues, I didn't even understand what was exactly happening during the tug-of-war. What is the purpose of the disruptors exactly, what was that about the loops, why does the rope have to be cut at the end?
The film gives us tantalising glances into a fascinating cultural event as well as into interesting plot lines -- but none of them is ever developed to a satisfying point.
All in all, I would have rather watched a documentary about the Sendai Tug of War.
Was it good? -- Everything was great -- except for the script.
Did I like it? -- Not really. Script and characters are at the centre of a film for me, and here they frustrated me.
Who would I recommend it to? -- I'm not sure. To people who want to know about Japanese culture maybe? But then there's not enough explanation fo it.
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