Alone On The Pacific

Alone On The Pacific (1963) was one of several artistic successes for Director Kon Ichikawa in the 60s and was one of three produced in 1963 based on a true story. The screenplay (written by Ichikawa's wife Natto Wada) is based on the book and true story of Kenich Horie (played by teen idol Yujiro Ishihara), who sailed a small yacht from Osaka Japan to San Francisco. it is a classic story of man versus nature. it addresses issue like Japanese pride-we get voice overs when a cruise ship with Americans comes by asks him if needs food-and he feels insulted that they think he couldn't take care of himself. He is inspired to do this trip out of national pride no Japanese has undertaken such a voyage and Horie is eager to prove that Japan is among the great seafaring nations of the world as well. The supporting cast has some big names such as Masayuki Mori playing Horie's father and Kinuyo Tanaka playing his mother.  The music was composed by the always impressive Toru Takemitsu.