What is the certificate? Can children watch it?

It is rated I, so there is no age restriction.

Is it playing in IMAX or other premium formats?

No premium formats are listed. It is screening in standard theatres only.

The Great Passage (bc30)

Name: The Great Passage (bc30)
Released: 2026-09-17
Duration: 133 min
Cast: Ryuhei Matsuda, Aoi Miyazaki, Joe Odagiri, Haru Kuroki, Misako Watanabe

字裡人間 (bc30)

Will The Great Passage ever be completed?

7.2/10 Good 63 votes

Released: 17 Sep 2026
Runtime: 133 min
Certificate: Category I
Original title: 舟を編む
Language: ja

The verdict

Audiences rate it 7.2 out of 10 on TMDB across 63 votes — a solid score. It is not currently playing in Hong Kong cinemas. Category I · 133 minutes.

What it is about

Majime, an eccentric man in publishing company, who has unique ability of words, joins the team that will compile a new dictionary, The Great Passage. In the eclectic team, he becomes immersed in the world of dictionaries. But the team is overwhelmed with problems.

What to expect

Majime is the kind of editor who can spend an afternoon choosing between two synonyms — and mean it. The Great Passage drops this socially awkward lexicographer into a publishing house team tasked with compiling a new dictionary, and stays there for 133 unhurried minutes. The movie is set in the 1990s and adapted from a novel, but it wears neither its period nor its source material heavily; the pleasure is in watching a small, oddball group chip away at a project that may never be finished. The tone is dry and fond, built around workplace rhythms rather than plot twists. It screens in Japanese with English and traditional Chinese subtitles, rated I, from 17 September 2026 at selected cinemas. No IMAX or premium formats are listed. Audience votes currently sit at 7.2 from 63 responses — a modest sample, but enough to suggest the movie finds its people.

Trailer

Cast

Ryuhei Matsuda Mitsuya Majime
Aoi Miyazaki Kaguya Hayashi
Joe Odagiri Masashi Nishioka
Haru Kuroki Midori Kishibe
Misako Watanabe Take
Chizuru Ikewaki Remi Miyoshi
Shingo Tsurumi Murakoshi
Hiroko Isayama Kaoru Sasaki
Kaoru Yachigusa Chie Matsumoto
Kaoru Kobayashi Kohei Araki
Gō Katō Tomohiro Matsumoto
Kazuki Namioka Editor
Kumiko Aso Actress
Shohei Uno Shinichiro Miyamoto
Ryu Morioka Egawa

Crew

Director Yuya Ishii
Novel Shion Miura
Screenplay Kensaku Watanabe
Original Music Composer Takashi Watanabe
Director of Photography Junichi Fujisawa
Editor Shinichi Fushima
Executive Producer Miyoshi Kikuchi
Producer Kimitaka Goka
Producer Yasuyuki Iwanami
Producer Fumitsugu Ikeda
Executive Producer Kaho Song
Producer Tomoo Tsuchii

Common questions

How long is The Great Passage?: 133 minutes.
What is the certificate? Can children watch it?: It is rated I, so there is no age restriction.
What language is it in, and what subtitles are available?: Japanese, with English and traditional Chinese subtitles.
Is it playing in IMAX or other premium formats?: No premium formats are listed. It is screening in standard theatres only.