Sofia Coppola Directs Keanu Reeves in Suntory's Zippy Anniversary Film

Director Sofia Coppola returns to Japan, celebrating Suntory’s 100th anniversary in a short film starring Keanu Reeves. And nothing gets lost in translation.

That’s because she takes the direct approach. Reeves—looking more like a Woodstock-era hippie every day—ventures out for a neon-lit, Suntory fueled night on the town. As Joan Jett’s “Crimson & Clover” pounds on the soundtrack, bits of Japanese pop culture and brand history zip across the screen.

We’ll give it 8 whoas! on the Keanu scale. Iconic star … premium whisky … classic tune … some moody cinematography … that all feels about right.

Reeves (who headlined commercials for the distiller in the ’90s) will also star in a documentary series about Suntory from Sofia’s brother Roman. The work pops in coming weeks.

“I felt lucky that Suntory trusted us to follow our intuition, and I think we found a fascinating story about how harmony and many aspects of Japanese art and culture reverberate through whisky,” Roman Coppola says in campaign materials. “Interestingly, we also found themes that we were exploring in our own work. Like whisky begins with raw materials—barley and water, we honed and shaped our footage, and the project gradually unfolded as a reflection of the crafts we observed.”

Um, OK. We’ll drink to that!

Kidding aside, the Coppolas and Suntory share a rich history. The brand cameoed in Sofia’s Oscar-winning 2003 classic Lost in Translation, which was famously set in Tokyo. (Don’t blink as you watch the spot, or you might miss Bill Murray in a scene from the film).

And family patriarch Francis Ford Coppola shared screen time with fellow cinema godfather Akira Kurosawa in a Suntory ad way back in 1980.

CREDITS

Brand Film (The Directors Bureau)
Director – Sofia Coppola
Managing Director / Executive Producer – Hillary Rogers
TDB Producer – Ash Marshall
Creative Producer – Chris Chang
Producer – Terri Shafirov
Japan Producer – Georgina Pope
Japan Line Producer – Teru Haruta
Director of Photography – Philippe Le Sourd
Steadicam – Koji Naoi
Gaffer – Yuji Wada
Production Designer – Scott Dougan
Art Director – Masami Tanaka
Costume Designer – Stacey Battat
Talent Producer – Hiroko Kawasaki
BTS – Shoichi Kajino
Editor – Chad Sipkin
Consulate EP – Alan Lopez