Princess Raccoon, from maverick of Japanese cinema Seijun Suzuki (MIFF 00 retrospective subject), screened in Official Selection at Cannes, 2005. In this stunning operetta, Suzuki is inspired the Tanuki Goten films of the 1940s and 50s, but gives his own unique touch to the genre through engaging (among other things) opera, rock and hip-hop, as well as a combination of movement and dance styles. The result is a beguiling story of romance between Princess Tanuki (Zhang Ziyi, House of Flying Daggers) and Prince Amechiyo (Joe Odagiri), firmly grounded in tradition and mythology.

The raccoon dog, or tanuki, is the ultimate trickster in Japanese folklore, which can even take human form. Love between a human and tanuki is strictly forbidden. Prince Amechiyo is banished from the fold of his family, as his vain father is jealous of his beauty. Amechiyo meets the beautiful Princess Tanuki, and the pair is besotted with one another. Only the holy Mount Kairasu knows the course their love will take.

Brilliant performances and expert direction give the magic Princess Raccoon a wonderful and outrageous dreamlike edge.