Still the Water

Synopsis

“The waves crash into Naomi Kawase’s idyllic Japanese island, with two rattling typhoons framing the action in “Still the Water”, the Japanese auteur’s otherwise gentle, contemplative take on death and the passing of generations for two young teenagers who are learning how to live. Kawase delivers a striking meditation on what are clearly deeply personal themes, underscored by a profoundly moving death that gives the film its heart and soul. (…) On Kawase’s island, called Amami-Oshima, nature is all-powerful and commands respect, although the director makes a brief detour to Tokyo during which her love for the city is also palpable. Her message here is about how life goes on – Kawase’s waves, like Shakespeare’s, signaling the minutes which hasten to their end. (…) The score is by Kasiken, using piano and songs native to the island as well as traditional sanshin music. Yutaka Yamazaki provides images that are crisp and clear, fluid (as in the underwater shots) and occasionally urgent – from boiling seas to thehand-held work of the tropical storms. Colours are crisp, from the glowing white shirts of the school uniforms to the lushly green tropical vegetation, including, memorably, a tracking shot through a mangrove forest.” (Screen International, by Fionnuala Halligan). Theatrical release Germany: Spring 2015

Sunday, 30.11.2014 – 10:15 pm
Monday, 01.12.2014 – 9:30 pm (presented by Volker Schlöndorff)
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