Yasuda Ken to star in new real-life adaptation movie "Itoshi no Irene"

Yasuda Ken will be starring in the new real-life adaptation movie "Itoshi no Irene" (My Beloved Irene) based on the same-titled manga by Arai Hideki who became a manga artist in 1989 after working as a salesperson in a stationery company. Although the adaptation was initially planned by director Fukasaku Kinji, the plan was aborted due to his sudden death. As such, the new director of this  movie will be Yoshida Keisuke.


The story features Yasuda as the lead character Shishido Iwao who is 42 years old and single. Through his marriage to a Filipino lady Irene, the social problems plaguing the agricultural society in the suburbs and international marriages are depicted in the movie. The summer part of the story was filmed in the Philppines between 15 July and 31 July last year while the winter part was shot between January and February 2018.

Yasuda who last took on a solo leading role in the 2016 movie "Haiyuu Kameoka Takuji", commented that this was the first time that he participated in such a long filming so he joked that the audience might be mistaken into thinking that this is a major production. He described the characters as lovable in their own ways and it was a very valuable experience for him to participate in this movie.

Sources: Natalie / Eiga.com