Set in early 20th Century Japan, the movie follows the adventures of a young man who wants to get into the movie business -- but in a job unique to his country: a dramatic narrator for silent movies known as "Katsubenshi" or just "benshi". Comedy and action ensue as he becomes entangled with competing movie theaters where the crowds are drawn mostly by the skills of the dramatic interpreters rather than the movies themselves. —Scott G.G. Haller