Kokuho
Monday 3 August 2026
- Please note the earlier start time of 7pm
- Duration: 175 mins
Japanese language (with English subtitles)
| Monday 3 August
7pm |
Book Now |
Accessible / wheelchair seats must be booked through Box Office on 01 272 4030.
Please note the earlier start time of 7pm.
Aspiring teenage actor Kikuo Tachibana’s life is turned upside down when his yakuza father is killed in a raid by a rival gang. Initially hungry for revenge, Kikuo sets down a different path when he is taken under the wing of iconic kabuki actor Hanai Hanjiro II. Kikuo and Hanai’s son Shunsuke become inseparable. As the years pass, however, their fates diverge, and their friendship is severely tested as they each navigate the cutthroat world of elite kabuki theatre. The highest-grossing Japanese live action film of all time and winner of 10 Japanese Academy Film Prizes (including Best Film), Kokuho is an epic drama about friendship, love and the often punishing cost of fame and ambition.
Festivals:
Cannes Film Festival 2025 (Directors’ Fortnight)Busan International Film Festival 2025Awards:Winner-10 prizes (including Best Film and Best Director), Japan Academy Film Prize 2026
Nominated-Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Academy Awards 2026
‘[A] heartfelt and muscular epic.’
★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
‘Kokuho finds frequent force during sequences committed entirely to the characters’ craft. The camera is spellbound by the art of kabuki’
Alexander Mooney, Sight & Sound
‘Even those who are not attuned to the nuances of the [kabuki] art form can hardly fail to be moved by this film’s sumptuous period production design, its stunning costumes and the depiction of the savagery and suffering inherent in creative excellence’
Wendy Ide, The Observer
