{{No plot|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Saga Saga | image = Saga Saga film Theatrical release poster (2023).jpg | alt = | caption = | writer = Aimi Natsuto | based_on = | starring = {{plainlist| * Rena Matsui * Sae Okazaki * {{ill|Sara Kurashima|ja|倉島颯良}} * {{ill|Naoya Kusakawa|ja|草川直弥}} * {{ill|Noa Kawazoe|ja|川添野愛}} * Urara Matsubayashi * {{ill|Yuta Hayashi|ja|林裕太}} * {{ill|Shinsuke Kato|ja|カトウシンスケ}} * Asuka Kurosawa }} | music = Yuji Watanabe | cinematography = Ryo Muramatsu | editing = | studio = | director = {{ill|Aimi Natsuto|ja|夏都愛未}} | producer = Tōru Emori<br>Haruka Sugiyama | distributor = {{ill|Stardust Pictures|ja|スターダストピクチャーズ}} | released = {{Film date|2023|09|01|df=yes}} | runtime = 115 minutes | country = Japan | language = Japanese | budget = | gross = }}

'''''Saga Saga''''' ({{langx|ja|緑のざわめき}}) is a 2023 Japanese drama film directed by {{ill|Aimi Natsuto|ja|夏都愛未}}, starring Rena Matsui, Sae Okazaki and {{ill|Sara Kurashima|ja|倉島颯良}}. It follows an actress who quits her acting career in Tokyo and returns to her hometown on Kyushu, where she reunites with her two half-sisters.

==Cast== {{Cast listing| * Rena Matsui as Kyoko Oyamada * Sae Okazaki as Naoko Motohashi * {{ill|Sara Kurashima|ja|倉島颯良}} as Anna Kogure * {{ill|Naoya Kusakawa|ja|草川直弥}} as Soutaro * {{ill|Noa Kawazoe|ja|川添野愛}} as Eri * Urara Matsubayashi as Honami * {{ill|Yuta Hayashi|ja|林裕太}} as Tooru * {{ill|Shinsuke Kato|ja|カトウシンスケ}} as Elder Koga * Asuka Kurosawa as Fumiko * Kato Saki as Mayu * {{ill|Rikako Watanabe|ja|渡邉りか子}} as Ayano }}

==Production== After making her feature film debut with the comedy ''{{ill|Jeux de Plage|ja|浜辺のゲーム}}'', director {{ill|Aimi Natsuto|ja|夏都愛未}} wanted to direct another film, this time inspired by the works of Japanese writers Kenzaburō Ōe and Kenji Nakagami. Other influences included South American writers Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa. She decided on having sisters as the main characters as she wished to "tell a women's story",<ref name = "Eigachannel">{{cite web |url= https://eigachannel.jp/j-movie/theater-j-movie/31179/|title= 目には見えない世界を尊重したい」松井玲奈主演映画『緑のざわめき』夏都愛未監督、独占インタビュー|last= Yamada|first= Takashi|date= 30 August 2023|website= Eigachannel|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref> as well as to "depict female solidarity".<ref name = "CF">{{cite web |url= https://www.cinema-factory.jp/2023/08/27/31596/|title= 『緑のざわめき』夏都愛未（監督・脚本）オフィシャル・インタビュー|last= |first= |date= 27 August 2023|website= Cinema Factory|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref> She made the film's protagonist an actress due to her own background in acting.<ref name = "Eigachannel"/>

Natsuto planned to set the film in Kyushu, her hometown. After touring Kyushu, she decided on Saga Prefecture as the setting as the Camphor trees in the area reminded her of Ōe's depictions of the forests on Shikoku.<ref name = "Eigachannel"/> Additionally, ßa member of the Saga Prefecture Film Commission had shown her various potential shooting locations in the area which she felt "looked great".<ref name = "Cinemagical">{{cite web |url= https://cinemagical.themedia.jp/posts/46541106/|title= 「他人の行為を知りたい気持ちはどこから来るのか」を掘り下げて。 松井玲奈、岡崎紗絵、倉島颯良が異母三姉妹を演じる『緑のざわめき』夏都愛未監督インタビュー|last= |first= |date= 8 August 2023|website= Cinemagical|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref> Like her previous film, she initially planned for the film to revolve around a 'girls' night-out'. The first draft of the screenplay featured two main characters, half-sisters Kyoko and Naoko, with Naoko stalking Kyoko, who is on a 'girl's night out'. This was inspired by Natsuko Imamura's novel ''The Woman in the Purple Skirt'', which had led to Natsuto's interest in the psychology of stalkers. Eventually, she introduced a third sister, Ann, though she retained Naoko's stalking. This first draft emphasised that it was the forces of nature that compelled Kyoko to return to Kyushu.<ref name = "Eigachannel"/>

Natsuto claimed that while the first draft of the script was "liked" by the producers, it would have resulted in the film's runtime being over four hours long. As such, much was cut, including many characters, scenes depicting Kyoko with her friends and its more fantastical elements, including Anna's dream sequence and a scene in which two characters interact in their dreams. In the finished product, these elements were largely limited to a single scene in which Kyoko wanders through a forest in a dream.<ref name = "Eigachannel"/> Lead actress Rena Matsui used the first draft of the script to prepare for her role, as the cut content revealed much about the characters' backgrounds.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://online.stereosound.co.jp/_ct/17649088|title= 大阪アジアン映画祭正式出品作品『緑のざわめき』、主演「松井玲奈」のオフィシャルインタビュー解禁！|last= |first= |date= 19 August 2023|website= {{ill|Stereo Sound (magazine)|ja|ステレオサウンド|lt=Stereo Sound}}|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref>

Matsui, Sae Okazaki and {{ill|Sara Kurashima|ja|倉島颯良}} were cast as Kyoko, Naoko and Ann, respectively. Natsuto cast Matsui as she was also a novelist in addition to being a singer and an actress. Additionally, she felt that Matsui's personality fit Kyoko well. Okazaki was cast due to her roles in television dramas, in addition to Natsuto feeling that she had a "dark side". The role of Ann was partially written for Kurashima, who had previously appeared in Natsuto's segment of the anthology film ''{{ill|21st Century Girl (film)|ja|21世紀の女の子|lt=21st Century Girl}}''. Natsuto claimed that Kurashima made a "lasting impression" in her audition.<ref name = "CF"/> There were initially plans to cast foreign actors, though this as well as plans to do post-production overseas were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name = "Cinemagical"/> Principal photography took place around May 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/80dab60a2ea54979c640d3ae338b44bf25d33302|title= 異母姉をストーカーする役で見せた「狂気じみた真っすぐさ」。岡崎紗絵が悩んで出会った新たな自分|last= Saito|first= Takashi|date= 26 August 2023|website= Yahoo! Japan News|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref> The film was largely shot on location in the Saga prefecture,<ref name = "Cinemagical"/> though filming also took place in Fukuoka.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://backyard-site.com/real/11864.html|title= 岡崎紗絵、異母姉役の松井玲奈につきまとうストーカーに！「憧れが嫉妬に変わる"愛憎"感じた」|last= |first= |date= 14 August 2023|website= Backyard.com|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref>

==Release== The film premiered on 11 March 2023 at the "Indie Forum" section of the 18th Osaka Asian Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/515941|title= 「緑のざわめき」松井玲奈の異母妹役で岡崎紗絵と倉島颯良が出演、草川直弥は元彼に|last= |first= |date= 9 March 2023|website= Eiga Natalie|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref> It then screened at the Japan Cuts film festival, held in New York City at the end of July, before opening in theatres across Japan on 1 September.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/529805|title= 松井玲奈主演「緑のざわめき」公開日が決定、第16回JAPAN CUTSへの出品も|last= |first= |date= 22 June 2023|website= Eiga Natalie|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref>

==Reception== Milkman Saito of ''{{ill|Cinema Today|ja|シネマトゥデイ}}'' rated the film 5 stars out of 5, calling it an "extraordinary masterpiece" and "completely unpredictable". He opined that it is "clearly a step up" from ''Jeux de Plage'' and that it is "brimming with the chaos of Japanese-style magical realism."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0028882/review#12695|title= 緑のざわめき (2022)：映画短評|last= |first= |date= |website= {{ill|Cinema Today|ja|シネマトゥデイ}}|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref> A critic from ''The Asahi Shimbun'' called the film "dense and multi-layered" and felt that its runtime could have been extended to three hours.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.asahi.com/articles/DA3S15737221.html|title= （評・映画）「緑のざわめき」 ３人の異母姉妹、繫がる人生|last= |first= |date= 8 September 2023|website= The Asahi Shimbun|publisher= |access-date= 14 October 2025|quote=}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:2023 drama films Category:Japanese drama films