World premiere of movie "Thermae Romae II"

The world premiere of movie "Thermae Romae II" was held at Royal Palace of Caserta, a World Heritage site in Italy, on 9 April which was attended by the leads Abe Hiroshi and Ueto Aya as well as the director Takeuchi Hideki. The movie will be shown in Japan from 26 April and is the sequel to the original movie shown in April 2012. 300 students from the Università degli Studi di Napoli L'Orientale gathered for the screening held at the theatre previously used for opera performances by the royal family and were full of praise for the movie.

Abe who watched the movie from the 2nd floor's balcony seat with the audience, said that he was very touched by the support and good response and even greeted the audience in Italian. He was especially glad that the screening could be held at a place which exuded the feel of the Roman era that was in line with his character's background. Abe plays the role of a bathroom designer from the Roman era who time-travels to Japan in the modern day and is awed by the technology of today. Members of the audience commented that Abe looked just like an Italian and they were amused by his performance in the movie.

Before the screening, Abe and Ueto were also invited to try foot baths and massages in the Italian way. Ueto also revealed during the event that Part 1 is due to be shown in Italy from June so she hopes that it will be a huge success as well.

Source: Sanspo