While it veers away from some of his more standard work, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back with the simplistic but truly brilliant experience in To The Ends Of The Earth.
Yoko (Atsuko Maeda) is a little introverted, very cautious but the incredibly driven host of her travel TV show. While on assignment in Uzbekistan; accompanied by her cynical director (Shota Sometani), a cameraman (Ryo Kase), an AD (Tokio Emoto), and a local Japanese speaking guide (Adiz Radjabov) she searches for a mythical fish, samples culinary delicacies, and seeks out other wonders in a land that often appears strange and hostile. With everything going wrong in what feels like a disastrous shoot, she finds herself adrift in a foreign city and more lost then she had ever truly realized.
There’s an unexpected amount of dry humour that goes hand in hand with the humanity here in To The Ends Of The Earth as Kurosawa makes a film that not only has a positive human message about embracing the differences we all have, especially while in new cultures but also isn’t afraid to poke a little fun at some of the genuine banalities in modern entertainment.
Easily one of his smartest projects since Penance, Kurosawa here is working outside of his comfort zone and thanks to a really strong performance from Atsuko Maeda you won’t have to go To The Ends Of The Earth to see this film if you missed it at TIFF because there’s no doubt it’s coming back.
David Voigt is a Toronto based writer with a problem and a passion for the moving image and all things cinema. Having moved from production to the critical side of the aisle for well over 15 years now at outlets like Examiner.com, Criticize This, Dork Shelf (Now That Shelf), and to.Night Newspaper.
He’s been all across the continent; serving on the FIPRESCI Jury at the Festival Du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal, covering festivals out side of Toronto like Calgary Underground Film Festival, CUFF Docs, Slamdance, Fantasia, SXSW, DOC NYC, Santa Barbara Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival and many others
However, In the uncertain world of modern film journalism, David also knew that he needed to have a hand in writing and cementing his own contributions on the global film scene.
Having eclipsed the 10 year anniversary of his own outlet, In The Seats, where he’s been striving to support film (and TV) from all walks of life and his podcast “In The Seats With…” where after 5 & ½ years and over 750 episodes he’s talked with a wide variety of filmmakers, actors, behind the scenes artisans and so much more on the art of storytelling for the screen, which is spawning the launch of a new show in the Spring of 2026. “ITS: Soundtracks” will focus on the use of soundtrack and score in film which he believes is a combination that is the cinematic equivalent of Peanut Butter and Chocolate.
All this as well as hosting and moderating a variety of big screen events around the city, covering film in all its forms is just a way of life for him.
