Toru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.
A Vietnamese servant girl, Mui, observes lives within two different Saigon families: the first, a woman textile seller with three boys and a frequently absent husband; the second, a handsome young pianist with his fiancée.
Director:
Anh Hung Tran
Stars:
Nu Yên-Khê Tran,
Man San Lu,
Thi Loc Truong
A young man who struggles through life by earning some money with his bicycle-taxi in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) gets contact to a group of criminals. They introduce him to the mafia-world ... See full summary »
Director:
Anh Hung Tran
Stars:
Le Van Loc,
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung,
Nu Yên-Khê Tran
With the brilliant Vietnamese summer as a setting Vertical Ray of the Sun is beautiful from beginning to end. The plot centres around three sisters, two of whom are happily married (or so ... See full summary »
Director:
Anh Hung Tran
Stars:
Nu Yên-Khê Tran,
Nhu Quynh Nguyen,
Khanh Le
Sachi is the owner of a piano bar. She is a single mother and her son is Takashi. One day, Sachi receives a phone call that her son Takashi died from a shark attack in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii. ... See full summary »
Upon hearing the song "Norwegian Wood," Toru (Matsuyama) remembers back to his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend. As the two try, in very different ways, to contend with their grief, Toru forms a bond with another woman, Midori.Written by
Anonymous
Rinko Kikuchi actively pursued a role in the film. Initially director Anh Hung Tran wasn't keen on casting her because of her raised profile following Babel (2006) but her audition tape convinced him otherwise. See more »
If you have read the book by Haruki Murakami this film won't spoil it, but you will be frustrated at what it failed to achieve. Sometimes with adaptations you hate the way they change key details, and take away the meaning of the original work. Here, its a different problem. The film was too languid and reserved. The story of Naoko and Watanabe was generally well done. But it really failed to tell the relationship of Midori and Wantanabe. In the novel she is far more quirky and sparky than was shown , and it would have lifted the film to have portrayed that. Similarly, it would have made it more lively had we seen Wantanabe's strange room mate Stormtrooper. And again it would have been more interesting, if we had seen Watanabe and Nagasawa on their nights out hunting for girls. Norwegian Wood was beautifully filmed, and I loved the sets which resonated with the descriptions in the book. I apologise for mentioning the book so much, but I don't think this film carries its own weight if you haven't read it. I can't imagine I would have felt emotionally drawn into without knowing the book, as the characters weren't developed properly. To sum up - not a disaster, but very much a missed opportunity.
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If you have read the book by Haruki Murakami this film won't spoil it, but you will be frustrated at what it failed to achieve. Sometimes with adaptations you hate the way they change key details, and take away the meaning of the original work. Here, its a different problem. The film was too languid and reserved. The story of Naoko and Watanabe was generally well done. But it really failed to tell the relationship of Midori and Wantanabe. In the novel she is far more quirky and sparky than was shown , and it would have lifted the film to have portrayed that. Similarly, it would have made it more lively had we seen Wantanabe's strange room mate Stormtrooper. And again it would have been more interesting, if we had seen Watanabe and Nagasawa on their nights out hunting for girls. Norwegian Wood was beautifully filmed, and I loved the sets which resonated with the descriptions in the book. I apologise for mentioning the book so much, but I don't think this film carries its own weight if you haven't read it. I can't imagine I would have felt emotionally drawn into without knowing the book, as the characters weren't developed properly. To sum up - not a disaster, but very much a missed opportunity.