IMDb > Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
Snow Falling on Cedars
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Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) -- A Japanese-American fisherman may have killed his neighbor Carl at sea. In the 1950's, race figures in the trial. So does reporter Ishmael.
Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   7,972 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Scott Hicks
Writers (WGA):
David Guterson (novel)
Ronald Bass (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Snow Falling on Cedars on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 January 2000 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller more
Tagline:
First loves last. Forever. more
Plot:
A Japanese-American fisherman may have killed his neighbor Carl at sea. In the 1950's, race figures in the trial. So does reporter Ishmael. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(12 articles)
Reeve Carney Is The New Spider-Man!
 (From EmpireOnline. 8 November 2009, 11:34 PM, PST)
Another Superhero Reeve As Carney Lands Spider-man Role
 (From WENN. 8 November 2009, 3:06 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Magnificent - the best of the year. more (184 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Ethan Hawke ... Ishmael Chambers
Youki Kudoh ... Hatsue Miyamoto
Reeve Carney ... Young Ishmael Chambers
Anne Suzuki ... Young Hatsue Imada

Rick Yune ... Kazuo Miyamoto

Max von Sydow ... Nels Gudmundsson (as Max Von Sydow)
James Rebhorn ... Alvin Hooks

James Cromwell ... Judge Fielding

Richard Jenkins ... Sheriff Art Moran
Arija Bareikis ... Susan Marie Heine

Eric Thal ... Carl Heine Jr.
Celia Weston ... Etta Heine
Daniel von Bargen ... Carl Heine Sr. (as Daniel Von Bargen)
Akira Takayama ... Hisao Imada

Ako ... Fujiko Imada
more
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, sensuality and brief strong language.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
127 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Japanese | German
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
Finland:S | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Denmark:11 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (936516) | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13
Filming Locations:
Cathlamet, Washington, USA more
Company:
Universal Pictures more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ishmael never once pronounces the love-of-his-life's name correctly. He always calls her "Hat-sue" not by her real Japanese name "Ha-Tsu-E". more
Goofs:
Factual errors: The guests are wearing black ties at the wedding. In Japan, a black tie signifies a funeral. The guests should be wearing white ties. more
Quotes:
Young Hatsue Imada: Don't be sorry. I'm not. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Spotlight on Location: Snow Falling on Cedars (2000) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
My Blue Heaven more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
29 out of 37 people found the following comment useful.
Magnificent - the best of the year., 27 January 2000
10/10
Author: BBlake from Vero Beach, FL

This film stands apart from the standard, sometimes clever, seldom memorable work that passes too often for Oscar fare nowadays. It is a film about life and death, love and betrayal, passion and pain, forgiveness and redemption. It is about the power of emotion to influence perception and memory. It is about justice and truth.

But that is not why you should see it; You should see it for the story. For this film is so finely crafted, and the story unfolds so naturally, that it is easy to appreciate for the simple compelling drama of the narrative. You care about the characters, you care about how the trial turns out, and you ache to know the truth.

The plot centers around a murder trial of a Japanese man charged in the death of a local fisherman, and on a white reporter covering the trial. It turns out the reporter had once been in love with a Japanese woman, now the accused man's wife. This romance was shattered as World War II broke out, and the young woman and her family were rounded up with other Japanese Americans, and interred in camps.

The story that unfolds is part "Casablanca", part "Amistad", part "To Kill a Mockingbird", yet wholly original and true to itself. It is at once a tender love story, a lesson in history, a murder mystery, and more.

The story of each of the main characters is told through flashbacks that reveal how each of them has suffered because of the war and how each has to overcome this suffering. Many of the most compelling images of the film occur in these flashbacks. Like real lasting memories, they are moments of deep emotional significance, and include many images which you will carry in your own mind long after you have left the theater.

If you look for them you may also find some symbolic or allegorical images in the film (the boat's mast resembles a cross; the fish could also be seen as a Christian symbol of sacrifice), but these elements are not heavy handed or forced, they occur naturally as important elements of the story which is set in a small fishing village on the Northwestern coast of the US in the years surrounding World War II.

While I have seen many reviewers comment on how beautifully filmed and well acted this film is, I have seen a few who have somehow failed to appreciate the significance of the story. My only caution on this account is, take care that you are not so blinded by beauty, that you fail to notice love.

In short, I found this to be a brilliant, deep, uplifting engrossing, and highly satisfying film experience.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (184 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I LOVE this movie, but... queen_supreme-1
Ishmael - *SPOILERS* thirstyopossum
Missed part of the movie Jillian724
The forgotten prisoners Turan
hatsue never love ismael? antiquegirl12
wow Devrayne
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