Midnight Swan

Midnight Swan (ミッドナイトスワン, Middonaito Suwan) is a 2020 Japanese drama film directed by Eiji Uchida, who also wrote the screenplay.^[1] It received nine nominations at the 44th Japan Academy Film Prize, including Director of the Year and Screenplay of the Year, winning for Picture of the Year, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, and Newcomer of the Year.^[2][3]

Midnight Swan
Theatrical release poster
Kanji	ミッドナイトスワン
Revised Hepburn	Middonaito Suwan
Directed by	Eiji Uchida
Screenplay by	Eiji Uchida
Story by	Eiji Uchida
Produced by	Takeshi Moriya
Starring	Tsuyoshi Kusanagi Misaki Hattori Asami Mizukawa
Cinematography	Maki Ito
Edited by	Yuichi Iwakiri
Music by	Keiichiro Shibuya
Production company	Culen
Distributed by	Kino Films
Release date	September 25, 2020 (2020-09-25)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Plot

Nagisa is a transgender woman. Growing up as a man in Hiroshima, Nagisa faces prejudice and is ostracized by society. She leaves Hiroshima and lives in Tokyo where she works as a dancer in a nightclub. Her distant niece, Ichika, is a middle school student neglected by her mother. After being kicked out of her home, Ichika travels to Tokyo and starts living with Nagisa. Although initially reluctant, Nagisa takes Ichika in and eventually starts to care for the shy, isolated child. In return, Ichika slowly starts to open up, helped in part by her love of ballet.

Cast

• Tsuyoshi Kusanagi as Nagisa^[4]
• Misaki Hattori as Sakurada Ichika
• Asami Mizukawa as Saori Sakurada
• Tomorowo Taguchi as Mama Yoko
• Sei Matobu as Mika Katahira
• Shunsuke Tanaka as Nagisa's colleague
• Kaito Yoshimura as Nagisa's colleague
• Reo Sanada as Nagisa's colleague
• Rinka Ueno as Rin
• Eriko Sato as Rin's mother
• Yusuke Hirayama as Rin's father
• Toshie Negishi as Nagisa's mother

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 5 critics' reviews are positive.

Writing for The Japan Times, Mark Schilling gave the movie a positive review, calling it "a gloomy drama, with moments of realism and grace".^[5] Matthew Hernon of the same publication praised the portrayal of transgender issues and individualism through dance.^[1]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2020	45th Hochi Film Award	Best New Actor	Misaki Hattori	Won	[6]
		Best Actor	Tsuyoshi Kusanagi	Nominated	[7]
	Nikkan Sports Film Award	Best Newcomer	Misaki Hattori	Won	[8]
		Best Actor	Tsuyoshi Kusanagi	Nominated	[9]
2021	63rd Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Actor	Tsuyoshi Kusanagi	Won	[10]
		Best Director	Eiji Uchida	Nominated	[11]
		Best Newcomer	Misaki Hattori	Nominated
		Best Picture	Midnight Swan	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Asami Mizukawa and Sei Matobu	Nominated
	44th Japan Academy Film Prize	Newcomer of the Year	Misaki Hattori	Won	[3]
		Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Tsuyoshi Kusanagi	Won
		Picture of the Year	Midnight Swan	Won
		Director of the Year	Eiji Uchida	Nominated	[12]
		Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction	Hiroyuki Agatsuma	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography	Maki Ito	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction	Shingo Inoue	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording	Hironori Ito	Nominated
		Screenplay of the Year	Eiji Uchida	Nominated
	30th Japanese Movie Critics Awards	Best Newcomer	Misaki Hattori	Won	[13]
		Best Music	Keiichiro Shibuya	Nominated
	75th Mainichi Film Awards	Best Music	Keiichiro Shibuya	Won	[14]
		Best Actor	Tsuyoshi Kusanagi	Nominated	[15][16]
		Best Newcomer	Misaki Hattori	Nominated
	23rd Far East Film Festival	Golden Mulberry Award (Gelso d'Oro)	Midnight Swan	Won	[17]