Still the Water (2014)

On a subtropical island, a teenage couple deal with the interwoven cycle of life, death and love.

Director:

Naomi Kawase

Writer:

Naomi Kawase (screenplay)

Stars:

Nijirô Murakami, Junko Abe, Miyuki Matsuda

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Nijirô Murakami	...	Kaito
Junko Abe	...	Kyôko (as Jun Yoshinaga)
Miyuki Matsuda	...	Isa
Tetta Sugimoto	...	Tôru
Makiko Watanabe	...	Misaki
Jun Murakami	...	Atsushi
Hideo Sakaki
Sadae Sakae
Kazurô Maeda
Mitsuaki Nakano
Yukiharu Kawabata
Yukiyo Maeda
Kinue Yasuda
Fujio Tokita

Storyline

On the subtropical Japanese island of Amami, traditions about nature remain eternal. During the full-moon night of traditional dances in August, 16-year-old Kaito discovers a dead body floating in the sea. His girlfriend Kyoko will attempt to help him understand this mysterious discovery. Together, Kaito and Kyoko will learn to become adults by experiencing the interwoven cycles of life, death and love.

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Plot Keywords:

infidelity | full frontal female nudity | full male frontal nudity | underwater scene | death | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

After the release of the film, Naomi Kawase dubbed it as her masterpiece.

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Alternate Versions

The UK release was cut, scenes from the film were originally shown to the BBFC for advice. At which the company were informed that one scene was likely to be in breach of the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937 and was therefore unlikely to be suitable for classification. When the film was submitted for formal classification, this scene had been cut. This version of the film was consequently classified 15 without further changes.

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Soundtracks

Kyoko & Kaito
Composed by Hashiken
Piano by David Hadjadj
Arranged and Performed by David Hadjadj

User Reviews

Very deep and moving

Death, love, commitment...the movie treats those question in a very human rhythm, and surprises you in its deepness. I was moved to tears.

It's set in a paradisaical coast of a Japanase island, full of light and sea. The actors are impressively true and beautiful.

Japanase music being played and sang was a real plus too. The few scenes happening in Tokyo were a really good reflection to appreciate better the lifestyle in that countryside.

the last third of the movie was maybe a little bit slow to reveal itself, but it saved some great scenes and was matching the rest of it.

It's also socially and culturally very enriching and interesting. Leaves you with true surprises about the way these kids behave towards losing someone, towards relationships, etc.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Japan Spain

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

26 July 2014 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Still the Water

Filming Locations:

Amami, Kagoshima, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$383,948

Company Credits

Production Co:

WOWOW, Comme des Cinémas, Asmik Ace

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1