Poppoya (鉄道員（ぽっぽや）, Poppoya), also known as The Railroad Man, is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. It was Japan's submission to the 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony. The film was the third-highest-grossing film of the year in Japan.
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Synopsis
A railway station master at a dying end-of-the-line village in Hokkaido is haunted by memories of his dead wife and daughter. When the line serving the village is scheduled for closure, an erstwhile colleague offers him a job at a resort hotel, but he is emotionally unable to part with his career as a railwayman. His life takes a turn when he meets a young woman with an interest in trains who resembles his daughter.
Cast
Ken Takakura: Otomatsu Satō
Shinobu Otake: Shizue Satō
Ryōko Hirosue: Yukiko Satō
Hidetaka Yoshioka: Hideo Sugiura
Masanobu Ando: Toshiyuki Yoshioka
Ken Shimura: Hajime Yoshioka
Hirotarō Honda : Miner
Tomoko Naraoka: Mune Katō
Yoshiko Tanaka: Akiko Sugiura
Nenji Kobayashi: Senji Sugiura