Cannes update: Tatsushi Ômori's THE WHISPERING OF THE GODS (GERUMANIUMU NO YORU), w/ Hirofumi Arai,

The line-up for the Directors' Fortnight 2006 (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs 2006) in Cannes isn't scheduled to be officially announced until May 2nd; however, some are speculating that Tatsushi Ômori's The Whispering of the Gods (Gerumaniumu no yoru - or "Germanium no yoru", if you prefer back-transliterations) will have its international (i.e., outside-of-Japan) première there. The movie was in competition at the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival (Dai-18-kai Tôkyô Kokusai Eigasai). Arato Film Inc. (K.K. Arato Eiga Jimusho) released it theatrically in Japan on December 17th of last year.

The screenplay for The Whispering of the Gods (Gerumaniumu no yoru) was written by Yoshio Urasawa, based on the eponymous novel Gerumaniumu no yoru by Mangetsu Hanamura. The movie's principal cast is as follows: Hirofumi Arai, Leona Hirota (Hirota Reona), Megumi Sawara, Keita Kimura, Nao Ômori, Takayuki Tsuwa, Genta Dairaku, Masashi Yamamoto, Akifumi Miura, Akaji Maro, Renji Ishibashi, and Kei Satô.

For more information on The Whispering of the Gods, see ScreenAnarchy's fourth, third, second, and first articles on it.

"'The Whispering of the Gods' is, I believe, the most powerful Japanese film I have seen during 2005. Certainly, in it, director Omori Tatsushi makes the memorable debut." - world-renowned film critic Donald Richie, as quoted on the official subsite for The Whispering of the Gods

The Whispering of the Gods broadband theatrical trailer (streaming Windows Media)
The Whispering of the Gods narrowband theatrical trailer (streaming Windows Media)

The Whispering of the Gods teaser trailer #1 (streaming Windows Media)
The Whispering of the Gods teaser trailer #2 (streaming Windows Media)
The Whispering of the Gods official subsite