Reviewed by Arvee Gomez
Dir: Ryota Nakano
Starring: Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Joe Odagiri, Tori Matsuzaka, Aoi Ito, Yukiko Shinohara, & Taro Suruga
Dir: Ryota Nakano
Starring: Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Joe Odagiri, Tori Matsuzaka, Aoi Ito, Yukiko Shinohara, & Taro Suruga
All it takes is a trip to the doctor to turn the life of ordinary housewife Futaba Sachino (played by Rie Miyazawa) upside-down. With a responsibility to take care of her timid teenage daughter Azumi (Hana Sugisaki) and an abandoned bathhouse, due to a husband who left her for another woman, Futaba is left with no choice but to take all her problems from the backseat, and steer her life to a positive direction in her last remaining days.
Unaware of her mother’s pain, Azumi battles her own bullies in school, keeping things quiet or giving excuses for the humiliating acts she experiences from the hands of her tormentor-classmates, careful not to add a burden to her single mother who was forced to stand as both father and mother due to her biological father’s own negligence.
The life in a typical Japanese household is tastefully portrayed with the titular bathhouse playing a critical role in providing the space for the central cast to interact, where personal dialogues and events takes place that influence everyone’s relationship with each other. Add to that the complexity that the father Kazuhiro (Joe Odagiri) and his love child from another woman Ayuko (Aoi Ito). There are secrets waiting to be unfolded along the road, with circumstances waiting for it to happen, such as the journey to the coasts of Hakone and an unexpected discovery of her own family member. It is as if a red string of fate, a popular depiction of how things are connected with an invisible and unbreakable string in Japanese culture, and it is reflected with how everyone connects with Futaba.
The life in a typical Japanese household is tastefully portrayed with the titular bathhouse playing a critical role in providing the space for the central cast to interact, where personal dialogues and events takes place that influence everyone’s relationship with each other. Add to that the complexity that the father Kazuhiro (Joe Odagiri) and his love child from another woman Ayuko (Aoi Ito). There are secrets waiting to be unfolded along the road, with circumstances waiting for it to happen, such as the journey to the coasts of Hakone and an unexpected discovery of her own family member. It is as if a red string of fate, a popular depiction of how things are connected with an invisible and unbreakable string in Japanese culture, and it is reflected with how everyone connects with Futaba.
Perhaps it is Rie Miyazawa’s own turbulent personal life that led her to lend a wonderful portrayal of an illness-stricken mother clinging to her last threads of life.
A film directed and written by Ryota Nakano, he presented a stunning visual comprised of faded colors, masterful use of space, and the ordinary blissful lives in the Japanese countryside. The well-crafted dialogue suits the Japanese sensibility, and although they are not confrontational in nature, they cope in their own way in problems that involve the self and family.
In celebration of the 20th year of Eiga Sai in the country, and one of the most-anticipated film festival in terms of viewership,, Her Love Boils Bathwater is the Opening Film of the festival, with a roster of 20 films of different genres that is sure to give satisfaction to the Filipino viewer.
A film directed and written by Ryota Nakano, he presented a stunning visual comprised of faded colors, masterful use of space, and the ordinary blissful lives in the Japanese countryside. The well-crafted dialogue suits the Japanese sensibility, and although they are not confrontational in nature, they cope in their own way in problems that involve the self and family.
In celebration of the 20th year of Eiga Sai in the country, and one of the most-anticipated film festival in terms of viewership,, Her Love Boils Bathwater is the Opening Film of the festival, with a roster of 20 films of different genres that is sure to give satisfaction to the Filipino viewer.
On July 7, there will be an invitational special screening of Her Love Boils Bathwater at 7:30 PM, with a Director’s Talk by Nakano Ryota at the Film Development Council of the Philippines Cinematheque in Manila and a public director's talk scheduled on July 8 at 7:30 pm in Shang Cineplex Cinema 2.
Eiga Sai Manila Film Festival Screenings will be held on Shangri-la Plaza Mandaluyong, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and the University of the Philippines – Diliman from July 1- August 29, 2017. For screening schedules and updates, visit www.facebook.com/eigasaiPH.
Eiga Sai Manila Film Festival Screenings will be held on Shangri-la Plaza Mandaluyong, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and the University of the Philippines – Diliman from July 1- August 29, 2017. For screening schedules and updates, visit www.facebook.com/eigasaiPH.
