The Blue Lagoon meets Descendants. It's a beautifully filmed feature, about life, death, love, and the natural beauty of the island. It is also about loss, resilience, sacrifice, and preservation in the face of change. It is also a coming of age drama just as much as a romance. A little slow in some area, made up for by the lingering shots on the island. Restrained acting of parents such as Makiko Watanabe, Tetta Sugimoto, and Miyuki Matsuda in the film make your heart break. Reminds viewers there is more to Japan than Tokyo. Would have liked to learn more about the Island life, for example, is it based on tourism with tensions between tourists who come in for a few days and leave? Would have fleshed out the parent characters a little more. Spoiler Alert: there is an ending scene that should have been cut or totally omit in my opinion since it does not convey the intended message. Still worth a nine out of ten stars.
Review of Still the Water
