You are here:

Kakashi

Name: Kakashi
Director: Norio Tsuruta
Released: 2001
Duration: 86 min

Representation Score

2.8/10

Limited

2001

Director

Norio Tsuruta

Runtime

86 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Kakashi is a psychological horror film that delves into social exclusion through the lens of a closed community. Despite lacking LGBTQ+ representation, it benefits from its ethnic diversity and female-led storyline. The film employs the 'unwelcoming village' cliché to explore the tension between personal freedom and traditional structures. This results in a narrative focused on displacement and the struggle of being an outsider. Overall, Kakashi operates as a conventional genre piece. It offers some diversity through its casting and protagonist, but fails to deeply challenge traditional structures or provide multi-layered character development.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Kakashi have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any characters with LGBTQ+ identities or same-sex relationships. The main conflict revolves around family search and community hostility.

How does Kakashi portray gender?

Fair

Kaoru is a strong female lead who drives the plot forward. However, she ends up in a vulnerable position within the village.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Kakashi?

Fair

Sally, a Chinese girl, adds ethnic diversity to the rural Japanese setting, providing a contrast to a traditionally homogeneous cast.

How does Kakashi represent religion and culture?

Fair

The story looks at the tension between modern individual ability to act and traditional social norms. The village's hostility highlights the clash between outsiders and community traditions.

Does Kakashi include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no characters with visible or invisible disabilities in the narrative.

Present on Screen

The film features a female protagonist who drives the central plot.
Including a Chinese character in a rural Japanese setting adds ethnic complexity.
The narrative effectively explores themes of social exclusion and communal tension.

Limited or Absent

The film lacks any representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight-centered themes.
There are no characters with visible or invisible disabilities.
The narrative does not explicitly challenge traditional gender hierarchies or masculinity.

Official Synopsis

The search for her vanished brother Tsuyoshi leads Kaoru to the lonesome village Kozukata in the Japanese back-land. The locals react repelling to her, which the exception of the Chinese girl Sally. As her car breaks down Kaoru is trapped in the village; will she have to repay for something she has done in the past?

How are these scores produced? →