Cast overview: | |||
Kôji Yakusho | ... | Yosuke Sasano | |
Misa Shimizu | ... | Saeko Aizawa | |
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Mitsuko Baishô | ... | Mitsu Aizawa |
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Mansaku Fuwa | ... | Gen |
Isao Natsuyagi | ... | Masayuki Uomi | |
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Yukiya Kitamura | ... | Shintaro Uomi |
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Hijiri Kojima | ... | Mika Tagami |
Toshie Negishi | ... | Tomoko Sasano | |
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Sumiko Sakamoto | ... | Masako Yamada |
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Taka Guadalcanal | ... | Taizo Tachibana |
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Mickey Curtis | ... | Nobuyuki Ohnishi |
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Takao Yamada | ... | Kazuo Namamura |
Katsuo Nakamura | ... | Takao Yamada | |
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Kazuo Kitamura | ... | Taro |
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? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
I was eager to see WARM WATER UNDER A RED BRIDGE - from the description on the back of the DVD I wasn't really expecting this to be THE EEL or BLACK RAIN but if it's junk, it is very well-crafted junk. The story (well commented upon below) is quirky/kinky and provocative, which is well-handled, and a few scenes were hilarious. The cinematography is beautiful - Imamura's films always have a very striking look, and on this front this film doesn't disappoint. WARM WATER... has a strong 'magic realist' quality - more than anything it reminded me a bit of some of Gabriel Garcia-Marquez' novels (if only Imamura had stuck in a failed insurgency or a grandmother floating into the sky). I didn't always know what to make of it - the mix of realism, quirkiness, kink, cuteness, humor, small-town mundanity and erotic strangeness all taken at once made me wonder what if anything Imamura might be trying to say (aside from the fact that reality can be strange and life doesn't fit so neatly into compartments). So - no masterpiece, but fans of Imamura won't want to miss it.