A ramshackle tale based on a historic incident that occurred over a hundred years ago when wives of fishermen (the latter could be away for years at a time) launched protests against rice being exported from their local area while their families faced starvation. (It was the first of many rice riots that started in the rural fishing village of Uozu, Toyama.) The recreation of the bravery and determination of these fearless and determined women is well captured in dialog voiced by the actors, but often not in their faces (more about this in a moment). While child actors deliver especially moving performances, emotions adult actors strive to convey on screen remain there - the director simply fails to draw in the viewer. This is a frequently missed opportunity. Part of the problem - a very large part - is due to terrible scene lighting. It's at night where most of the action takes place, but viewers can barely discern or see at all the facial expressions of the actors! Interior scenes are also poorly lit. It does not help that the direction is highly repetitive and unimaginative: the same characters are shown meeting in the same way with the same setbacks striving in the same way to regroup and demand satisfaction almost in an endless loop! The bad guys (police officers, rice merchants, boat-loading organizers, etc.) are little more than stereotyped cardboard cutouts. Several narrators wander about adding little in the way of explanation. Music is overkill with the scores and performance out of proportion to what is occurring on screen. Although it may seem tempting, a flashlight will not help when trying to see what is going on! Viewed at JICC J-film event. WILLIAM FLANIGAN.
Review of Angry Rice Wives
