Futatsume no Mado (2014)
Genre: Drama / Romance
Duration: 121 minuten
Alternative titles: Still the Water / 2つ目の窓
Country:
Japan / Spain / France
Directed by: Naomi Kawase
Stars: Makiko Watanabe, Hideo Sakaki and Jun Murakami
IMDb score:
6,7 (3.251)
Releasedate: 1 June 2014
Futatsume no Mado plot
On the Japanese island of Amami-Oshima, 16-year-old Kaito sees a dead man floating in the sea. Kaito, who didn't like the sea anyway, is now even more afraid of the water. His school friend Kyoko, who loves to swim, doesn't understand this. Nevertheless, the two draw closer and closer and fall in love. As Kaito's relationship with his divorced mother deteriorates, Kyoko struggles with the fact that her ailing mother Isa is dying. Together, Kaito and Kyoko gradually mature, experiencing the intertwined cycles of life, death and love.
Reviews & comments
Arnie
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- 1082 messages
- 1889 votes
A remarkable film by Kawase. In a bad mood, I wouldn't be able to stand the spiritual platitudes, surrounded by endless, thoughtful silences. It often feels a bit too pretentious for that. Therefore, this film shouldn't be seen for spiritual enlightenment, but it should be seen for the local rites and the drama surrounding the two main characters.
Island culture is subtly conveyed, without too much clichéd emphasis on things like idiosyncratic characters or a people tormented by nature. Images of a raging sea felt very natural, and even the rituals didn't create exotic tableaus for Kawase's camera, but perfectly logical and beautiful scenes. Besides the aforementioned cycling scene along the sea, the highlight for me was the singing and dancing around the dying mother, a truly masterful scene.
The ultimate lack of depth is holding me back from a higher score for now, but I'd still like to see more from Kawase. I'm torn between Mogari no Mori and Suzaku. Which do you recommend?
Translated from Dutch · View original
Ferdydurke
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- 1353 messages
- 854 votes
No, in my opinion, this tries to get to the heart of the matter a little too easily and too quickly, both in imagery and dialogue. Rolling waves, rustling leaves, and pronounced wisdom. It's all so deliberately illustrative. A bit of pantheistic surfing on the last tail of the wave. Then you're quickly at home.
Coming of age, but the film itself retains a childish quality. And in this case, that's not a compliment.
Translated from Dutch · View original
mjk87 (moderator films)
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- 14760 messages
- 4630 votes
Some beautiful shots indeed, and some wonderfully tender, sweet moments between the two leads, but also a 120-minute film that felt too pretentious to me. Arthouse-y, as some might say. Too contrived, so it didn't really captivate me. A shame, because these are films I normally appreciate, but this one barely touched me and ultimately became boring. 2.5 stars.
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