Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001)
"Akai hashi no shita no nurui mizu" (original title)

A down-and-out businessman travels to a seaside town, where he meets a woman with unusual sexual powers.

Director:

Shôhei Imamura

Writers:

Yo Henmi (novel), Shôhei Imamura,

Stars:

Kôji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baishô

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Kôji Yakusho	...	Yosuke Sasano
Misa Shimizu	...	Saeko Aizawa
Mitsuko Baishô	...	Mitsu Aizawa
Mansaku Fuwa	...	Gen
Isao Natsuyagi	...	Masayuki Uomi
Yukiya Kitamura	...	Shintaro Uomi
Hijiri Kojima	...	Mika Tagami
Toshie Negishi	...	Tomoko Sasano
Sumiko Sakamoto	...	Masako Yamada
Taka Guadalcanal	...	Taizo Tachibana
Mickey Curtis	...	Nobuyuki Ohnishi
Takao Yamada	...	Kazuo Namamura
Katsuo Nakamura	...	Takao Yamada
Kazuo Kitamura	...	Taro

Storyline

An impossible tale. Taro, an old man who dies homeless in Tokyo has told Yosuke, a weak-willed out-of-work salaryman about a golden statue that he left years ago in a house by the sea in Noto. Yosuke goes and he's captivated by Saeko, a young women who lives in the house where Taro left the statue. She has a strange affliction: water builds up in her and she can only vent it by wicked acts, such as shoplifting, or, more powerfully, through orgasm. Yosuke obliges, the water gives him life, as well as the plants and fish it reaches. Saeko feels shame, and she has a past. Taro's ghost urges Yosuke to fulfill his desires, but can the relationship survive?

---

Plot Keywords:

statue | water | shoplifting | desire | japanese new wave | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

---

Details

Official Sites:

Nikkatsu Corporation [Japan]

Country:

Japan France

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

3 November 2001 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Lauw water onder een rode brug

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,842 (USA) (3 May 2002)

Gross:

$62,044 (USA) (1 November 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BAP Inc., Catherine Dussart Productions (CDP), Comme des Cinémas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Dr. Akagi (1998)

User Reviews

lighten up!

It's sad to know there will be no more new Imamura films. I think the previous reviewer is probably lacking a sense of fun. This isn't drivel; it's wicked fun. In the same way he dissects small-town vs. big-city attitudes in "The Eel," Imamura shows us how disconnected from real life the corporate world of Tokyo can make a man by thrusting him into the chaos of joblessness where everything he knows is useless. This is an opportunity to see the ever-hot Koji Yakusho at his James Stewart/Buster Keatonesque best in a story that's worthy of García-Márquez, for its utterly plausible mix of the other-worldly with the down-to-earth. I gave it a 9 out of 10 because Imamura seems to be mystified enough by women that he doesn't flesh out their characters as much as they might deserve, but the mystification is part of the story in this case. Great score, too!