This magnificent six-hour documentary, divided into <Theatre 1> and <Theatre 2>, meticulously observes the artistic world of Japan’s leading theater director, Hirata Oriza, and his company, Seinendan, just as it observes the relationship between art and society. <Theatre 1> reveals Hirata’s elaborate creative process, which captures even the smallest nuance of performance and his persistent efforts to keep his company. <Theatre 2> traces the director’s relation to society for feasibly maintaining his company and the art form that is theater. He meets with government authorities and actively attracts sponsors; he goes around local towns promoting theater and advocates theater education in schools. And his theater reaches beyond the borders of Japan and interacts with the world. Director Soda Kazuhiro invested 307 hours of shooting time from July 2008 to March 2009 and dedicated a further 2 years of editing to complete this film. Born out of this intimate relationship, the film takes the Seinendan and artistic world of Hirata to the exciting drama of humanity and leads us into the world of theater. (CHO Young-jung)