Haru & Nishijima Hidetoshi to star in new movie "Ozuland"

Haru and Nishijima Hidetoshi will be starring in the new movie "Ozuland" which is based on the novel "Ozu no Sekai" by Komori Youichi and will be released in cinemas this autumn. The story is set at an amusement park named Green Land located in Arao City, Kumamoto Prefecture, where the movie was shot entirely at.

Namihira Kurumi (Haru) who had been working at a top-notch hotel chain, is posted to this amusement park which is also under the management of her company. While there, Kurumi meets Ozuka Yoshihiko (Nishijima) and other colleagues who take pride in their jobs to provide entertainment to the visitors. Kurumi finds out that those who perform at the branch companies stands a chance to be transferred to Tokyo but realises just how inadequate and immature she is when she keeps making mistakes despite her intention to do otherwise. While being chided by Ozuka for her poor performance, Kurumi gradually finds out what it means to enjoy her work.

Haru described her character as someone who is always feeling that the setbacks and difficulties she faces are not her own fault and that she feels as if her seniors' words are full of malice. In addition, Kurumi thinks that she should be given "more important" work which is probably how many newbie employees would feel at the start of their careers. As such, she could identify with Kurumi's feelings and came to realise that things can look very differently once someone changes his or her perspective. With regard to working with Nishijima, Haru said that she would love to work with him again and that he is the perfect fit for his role. On the other hand, Nishijima said that his first impression of Haru was that she seemed very smart and found out during the filming that she was also very frank, honest and hardworking so he would like to work with her again too.

Sources: Eiga.com / Natalie / Yomiuri Hochi