Atsuko Maeda reteams with Nobuhiro Yamashita for “Tamako in Moratorium”

By kevin on August 20, 2013 at 2:49am EDT

Today it was announced that Atsuko Maeda will star in Nobuhiro Yamashita’s upcoming film Tamako in Moratorium (Moratorium Tamako), which is slated to premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. The two previously worked together on 2012’s The Drudgery Train. That film wasn’t particularly successful at the box office, but it was well-received by critics and Maeda’s performance a Japanese Professional Movie Award for Best Actress.

In the new film, Maeda will play protagonist Tamako, a lazy young woman who does nothing all day but lounge around and eat.

Tamako graduated from a Tokyo university, but when she couldn’t find a job she was forced to return to her father’s home in Kofu. Instead of helping out with her father’s business, she spends her time eating and sleeping. The story depicts her baby steps forward in life as the seasons change over the span of one full year.

According to director Yamashita, Maeda is particularly good at portraying Tamako’s misplaced anger, laziness, and hopeless attitude. As a result, what was originally produced as a TV short was extended into a full feature film in order to make full use of her talents.

The project first began as a series of 30-second station IDs for “Music On! TV” representing each of the four seasons. The premise was later adapted to a special TV drama on the same channel.

Kosuke Mukai (The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky, Hidamari no Kanojo) handled the film’s screenplay and the theme song will once again be “Kisetsu” (season) by Gen Hoshino.

“Tamako in Moratorium” will open publicly in Japan on November 23, 2013.

Source: Eiga.com via