STILL THE WATER

| 2015  – 118′ – A Japan/France/Spain co-production, Drama, Coming-of-Age, Women Directors, Co-produced by France.
Written by: Naomi Kawase.
Directed by: Naomi Kawase.
Starring: Jun Yoshinaga, Nijiro Murakami, Tetta Sugimoto, Miyuki Matsuda, Makiko Watanabe.
Official Selections Cannes International Film Festival 2014, Toronto International Film Festival 2014.
Official Competition COLCOA 2015.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
A Film Movement release. |

This 2014 Palme d’Or nominee is a lyrical and visually arresting rumination on the meaning of love, life and death set in the exotically verdant Japanese island of Amami. The quiet story centers on Kaito and Kyoko, 16 year-old classmates whose nascent sexual awakening is put on hold by a heavily tattooed corpse that washes up after a typhoon. The sudden intrusion of death reinforces Kaito’s fear of the sea but the more adventurous Kyoko sees the body as a mystery to be solved. Both have troubled home lives. Kaito’s divorced mother is too busy earning a living to give him the attention he needs, while Kyoko struggles to accept her mother’s terminal illness, especially since her mother is a revered shaman. When Kaito discovers his connection to the dead body, he is forced to re-examine everything that he has taken for granted in his life. Still The Water is an intensely personal yet universal glimpse into Japan’s folkloric traditions, where coming-of-age means coming to terms with the unity of nature.

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