The International Film Festival Manhattan returns this 2026, featuring a variety of Asian films including The Enka Road Begins (Enka no sakamichi), directed by Jacke Woo and starring enka singer Midori Oka in the leading role.
The picture focuses on Yoshiko Takahashi (Midori Oka) a quiet housewife who is married to Kikuo (Akira 100%), who is the father of her children Eri and Kotaro. Yoshiko runs a small dried-goods shop with her husband in a calm shopping district. Her days run by without great expectations. She is forty-eight and has a passion for singing, that she expresses during karaoke night outs. Suddenly, her peaceful and familiar life changes unexpectedly when she enters a regional singing competition and wins. Music producer Takigawa (Mayo Kawasaki), serving as a judge, is so impressed by Yoshiko’s voice that he decides to take her under his wing, to train her so that she may pursue the ultimate dream of performing at Nippon Budokan. But this new journey entails a change of identity and a disruption in her consolidated family routine.
The film is a very straightforward modern fairytale, that does not lead to the obvious happy ending: Yoshiko’s happiness resides in a sense of resignation, which might make the narrative more realistic, but somehow fails to meet the audience’s expectations. The entire theme somehow collapses. We are invited to embrace the idea that ordinary people should find the courage to dream again, but do not see this message carried out to its full potential. Perhaps, screenwriter Mayumi Yamashita chose to reflect life as it is, rather than as we wish it to be. The magic of cinema often lies in its ability to act as a portal of escapism, through the edulcoration of fiction, especially in certain narratives such as this one. Yet in The Enka Road Begins we end up confined to the harshness of reality, instead of transcending it.
The simple storyline is undoubtably enriched by the presence of Midori Oka who sings with her nightingale voice, and is perfect for the role since she is an artist of enka, i.e. the Japanese music genre that comes across as a form of sentimental ballad. If global audiences got accustomed to Akira 100%’s physical comedy that often involved him being unclothed — in America’s Got Talent, France’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent and Italy’s Got Talent — they will be surprised to see him in a more contained and demure role, that he brings to life with utmost authenticity. This time someone else steps into the shoes of the histrionic character: singer Mayo Kawasaki. His flamboyant music producer is the one who reawakens Yoshiko’s long-forgotten dream, pushing her to be drawn to the limelight like a moth to the flame.
Despite the central message of the film does not live up to its claims, it remains powerful and inspiring. Hence, The Enka Road Begins reminds us that no matter how much time passes, some dreams are always worth chasing.
Final Grade: C+