Kokuho review – passionately male Cain-and-Abel kabuki epic of gender-crossing actors

Lee Sang-il’s heartfelt drama spans 50 years following the bond and rivalry between two brothers who play the rigorously observed female roles in the traditional art form Lee Sang-il’s heartfelt and muscular epic (whose title means “national treasure”) was a box-office smash on its Japanese home turf, winning a host of festival awards and an Oscar nomination. It’s a mighty Cain-and-Abel drama spanning five decades, set in the rarefied world of kabuki theatre where some of the most exotically ...

By Peter Bradshaw