Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

A Japanese-American fisherman is accused of killing his neighbor at sea. In the 1950s, race figures into the trial. So does reporter Ishmael.

Director:

Scott Hicks

Writers:

David Guterson (novel), Ronald Bass (screenplay) (as Ron Bass)

Stars:

Ethan Hawke, Max von Sydow, Yûki Kudô

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ethan Hawke	...	Ishmael Chambers
Yûki Kudô	...	Hatsue Miyamoto (as Youki Kudoh)
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

Storyline

It's 1950 on San Pedro Island in the American Pacific Northwest. Commercial fisher Carl Heine Jr.'s dead body is pulled out of the water in a fishing net by his crew, he who died of head trauma. Kazuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder. Carl and Kazuo were once friends, had known each other since childhood, but WWII has placed a strain on any sort of relationship between the ethic Japanese and Caucasian populations of the area, the Japanese population which was and is still substantial on the island. Carl had motive regarding a land dispute between the two families, land which Carl's mother eventually sold from under the Miyamotos and which Carl had just repurchased. Evidence also points to Kazuo being on the water with Carl probably sometime during his last voyage, evidence which Kazuo knew would put him in a bad light, adding on top of being Japanese, and thus decided not to disclose to the investigating sheriff at the time he was questioned. Kazuo and his wife Hatsue's fear come ...

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Plot Keywords:

injustice | japanese | fictional island | fisherman | island | 

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Taglines:

From the director of 'Shine'

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, sensuality and brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film, like the source novel, is set on San Piedro, a fictional island north of Puget Sound. There, the Anglo and Japanese-American populations have long lived in relative harmony - albeit within a tacit caste system in which immigrants, who are not permitted to own land, work Anglo berry farms. But Japan's shocking action electrifies, and divides, the community. Some people take advantage of their neighbors' tragedy, while others watch in silence as San Piedro's entire Japanese American population is sent into exile.

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Goofs

A Coast Guard form, reporting weather and shipping messages, in the lighthouse scene lists the Coast Guard as part of the Department of Transportation, which was created in 1960. The Coast Guard was under the Department of the Treasury until 1967.

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Quotes

Young Hatsue Imada: [snuggling] Do you think this is wrong?
Young Ishmael Chambers: Your friends would. Your dad would kill me.
Young Hatsue Imada: My mom is the problem.
Fujiko Imada: [remembering her mother's voice] Stay away from white boys. Marry one of your own kind, whose heart is strong and gentle.

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Crazy Credits

Jan Rubes and Sheila Moore are on the credits despite their scenes being deleted.

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Connections

Referenced in Sculpting the Movie: The Experience of Directing 'Shine' with Scott Hicks (2015)

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Soundtracks

Moon over Burma
Written by Friedrich Hollaender (as Frederick Hollander), Frank Loesser
Performed by Dorothy Lamour
Courtesy of the RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

Almost perfect

Adapting this novel with its tricky, time-shifting narrative was always going to be a big task, but Scott Hicks' sumptuous and elegant film very nearly pulls it off. Hicks and co-writer Ron Bass move quickly into the courtroom and wisely use the trial to drive the plot, telling the backstory - the real story in this case - through a finely-woven complex of flashbacks. The difficulty is that this story is a rich, long and emotional tale which requires a fair degree of exposition for it to be satisfying. The screenplay is superbly economical in this regard, but there is no escaping the fact that the only way to cover so much ground in a film of tolerable length is to fly over it at 30,000 feet. The necessarily distant treatment this requires occasionally dilutes the emotional force which would have come from a more thorough and leisurely telling. Hicks strives valiantly to compensate with a powerfully emotive score - this works, but it doesn't always hit the mark. Rather than engendering emotion, James Newton Howard's musical is often so insistently overpowering that it locks the audience out. On occasions I felt strangely alienated by a wall of sound when I knew I should have been in tears. But that's a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent production. Overall, this is an intelligent and considered adaptation - probably the best that could be made from a novel which would have been incredibly difficult to bring to the screen. It's solidly acted, immaculately lit, and offers some of the most achingly beautiful imagery to illuminate the screen in years (the opening shots are magnificent). Most rewarding of all is the fact that Scott Hicks takes some real stylistic risks with this film. They don't always pay off, but when they do it's magical.

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Studios - Site Index [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese German

Release Date:

7 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Snow Falling on Cedars

Filming Locations:

Cathlamet, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$32,135, 26 December 1999

Gross USA:

$14,417,593

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,049,593

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Soundfirm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1