"The Shack" feels like a sugar-coated salve for wounds sustained from the flurry of recent news events. Directed by Stuart Hazeldine and starring Sam Worthington as a grieving dad, the big surprise in this religious fantasy story is the presence of Japanese actress Sumire Matsubara (who goes by just her first name in Japan) in the role of the Holy Spirit.
Octavia Spencer, an African-American actress, plays Papa (the Almighty) and Avraham Aviv Alush, an Israeli actor, plays Jesus Christ — it seems that Christian Hollywood is singing the praises of diversity.
It's a cause for celebration, of course, but for the Japanese audience the fact that Matsubara has made it to Hollywood is just as important. The trend of Japanese actresses starring in big-budget Hollywood vehicles isn't exactly skyrocketing, but it's happening. Recent roles include Tao Okamoto in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" last year, and Okamoto with Anglo-Japanese actress Haruka Abe in Adam Sherman's "She's Just a Shadow," which is slated for release later this year.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.