Customer Reviews

Snow Falling on Cedars Special Edition - Spanish (Subtitled) [VHS]

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

As a reader of the excellent book by author David Guterson, I didn't quite know what to expect from a movie version. A book of this caliber and structure is not a book easily made into a movie. But through the collective efforts of the director Scott Hicks and great acting on the parts of Ethan Hawke, Max von-Sydow, and James Cromwell, the majestic beauty of the book comes alive on the silver screen. The only visible problem with the film would be the fact that some people simply won't get it. There are people who just enjoy watching a movie to be entertained, not to have to follow tough plot lines. These are the people that need to avoid a film such as Snow Falling on Cedars. The various plot lines and sub-plot lines revolve around the death of a fisherman, Carl Heine and the ensuing trial of the Japanese man, Kazuo Miyamoto, accused of killing him. The movie takes place during the trial, but flashbacks are heavily used during the testimony of the victim's mother, Etta Heine, as with all the other witnesses. Throughout the movie a different plot line emerges, one of more power and one of love. The plot line revolves around a local reporter named Ishmael Chambers and of his love for the accused man's wife, plus his inescable feelings of loss and regret. Circumstances tore them apart leaving Ishamel to wonder about what might have been. A beautiful story, but one that should only be watched by people that can appreciate the intricacy of the plot.

I enjoyed this movie much more than the novel upon which it was based. This is very unusual for me as it is usually the reverse situation. What I liked best is epitomized on the cover of the box. It shows the heroine as a child and the hero as an adult, even though, in the film, they are at all times the same age. The film, however, shifts atmospherically from their shared life together as children, adolescents and lovers to their lives as full adults. The hero is having a harder time letting go of that shared time together than she is. As adults of around thirty, they are as apart as they once were together. Her same-race (Japanese American) husband is on trial in their town for murdering a local fisherman. The hero is bitterly alone and has taken over his late father's newspaper. That he lost his arm fighting in World War II is part of his bitterness. The trial is the weakest part of the film and I could have done with much less of it. The rest of the film is so beautifully brought to the screen that it is annoying when the "typical" trial scenes play. Normally I love Max Van Sydow, the trial lawyer, but I could have even dispensed with him. Gorgeous cinematography enhances this film greatly. Ethan Hawke, who plays the hero, seems to be choosing his roles very carefully. After this film, he went on to star in "Hamlet 2000", where he was spectacular.

I can attest to the adage that the first person one falls in love with is forever, regardless of whether that person gets married to someone else or not. Well, in Snow Falling On Cedars, that sort of past comes back to haunt young reporter Ishmael Chambers when he discovers the husband of his first love Hatsue is being tried for the murder of fisherman/husband/father Carl Heine. The case for the prosecution is that Kazuo, Hatsue's husband, murdered Carl with a flat wooden object, such as a kendo stick (wooden swords used in stick fighting), and all because of the loss of seven acres of land owned by Kazuo's father when Kazuo's family was interned during WW2. Kazuo had demanded the return of the land, but because of two payments missed, his family forfeited the land, which came into Carl's possession. He is defended by an elderly lawyer, Nels Gudmundsson (veteran Swedish actor Max von Sydow in a strong performance), who as a Scandinavian, detects the race issue here. Pearl Harbor has not been forgotten, in other words. All the while, Ishmael sits high up on the balcony of the trial room, observing the defendant and his wife. He is clearly still bitter about the past, as he might have ended up with Hatsue had not circumstances dictated otherwise. This bitterness is manifested when he sits on some information key to Kazuo's defense.

Set in the fishing village of San Piedro, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, the film shuttles back and forth between the present, in the 1950's, and the past, in the late 30's to 40's. The film shows Ishmael falling in love with Hatsue Imada, a Japanese girl, and both their mothers disapproving of interracial relationships. The overall overcast setting lends to the forboding, oppressive atmosphere, but it works well in the forest, where Hatsue has a little hidey hole in the depths of a large cedar tree, a clandestine meeting place for the young lovers. However, the dizzying array of echoed and repeated voices, and montages connecting various bits of the past can be rather trying.

Of course, the attack on Pearl Harbor stirs up anti-Japanese sentiments, setting the stage for what has been called the largest wholesale violation of civil rights in US history: the rounding up of Japanese-Americans from their homes, confiscation of anything traditional, called "old country", and mass deportation to camps like Manzanar, which is the camp the Miyamotos end up in.

However, Ishmael's father, Arthur, the editor of the local paper, is very progressive, and protests the roundups, which leads to threatening calls and cancellations of subscriptions. At the time of the trial, his father has died, and he discovers to his discomfort that his father's liberal reputation is overshadowing him.

The Japanese traditions of girls being groomed to be graceful, e.g. sitting on one's knees without moving, the wearing of kimonos, etc. is something my late mother could relate to, as she too was Japanese. Hatsue's mother is one forbidding her relationship to Ishmael. Similarly, my mother's father, had he lived, would never have allowed her to marry my father, otherwise your humble reviewer's race would have been different.

While Ethan Hawke does well as the brooding Ishmael, he's overshadowed by other performers, such as von Sydow, Youki Koudoh (Hatsue), and Sam Shepard (Arthur Chambers). As the film progresses, one begins to understand his bitterness.

I haven't read Guterson's novel, so I don't know how closely the movie follows it. Regardless, it's a slow-paced movie, but not grabbing at times; somehow, the mixture of adolescent romance, and racial courtroom drama that lacks punch. But the message of learning to let go of the past, and the conditions that would allow one to let go, comes through towards the end.

Although this movie unfortunately opened to mixed critical reviews, after seeing I have to conclude that it is a film that (in my estimation, at least) comes very close to cinematic perfection. Seldom does one see such a powerfully depicted drama that also features the level of artistic accomplishment in terms of cinematography, accomplished acting, and general story line. Taken from the best-selling novel of the same name, this spellbinding tale of love, mystery and intrigue is set in the Pacific Northwest in the time period right after the end of World War Two, and deals with the undercurrents of deep-seated racism against a group of ethnic Japanese who had made their home for decades on the island depicted in the movie, and who were in many ways the most terribly and unjustly mistreated group within the United States during the war.

The movie version of the story is extremely well-told, and Ethan Hawke shows he has the chops to be a major star in his brilliant portrayal of the central figure in the unraveling of the mystery. Likewise, Sam Shepard and the rest of the cast does a sterling job in presenting this drama in a magnificently photographed and choreographed depiction of life and death in the sleepy little harbor where it all unfolds. One of the other reviewers mentioned the way in which the director has used his ability to interweave various elements such as the photography and the acting to spin his tale masterfully, and I have to agree the sum total of this effort is certainly much greater than the parts; the net result is simply terrific. This is a movie that deals with a painful aspect of American history quite well without either looking for easy answers or contriving convenient solutions, but it does manage to let us know that the only way to end such prejudice and fateful discrimination is through individual effort and personal growth. Two thumbs way up in this aisle seat for "Snow Falling On Cedars".

There are many wonderful things in this movie--the plot, the acting, and especially the photography. The movie centers around the trial of a young Japanese man who is accused of killing an American fisherman over a land dispute right after WWII. The accused was a war hero (on the American side) but lingering mistrust of the Japanese threatens the objectivity of the trial. The man's wife was the childhood friend and lover of a local newspaperman. Their romance was kept secret because it was forbidden by both families and by society. The newspaperman watches this trial with a moral dilemma because he is bitter about his breakup with the Japanese girl, yet he posseses information which might exonerate her husband. This story is told with the beautiful background of the Pacific Northwest. The performances were excellent, even the more minor characters such as the defense attorney at the trial. These positives are seriously marred by the frequent flashbacks which distract from the flow of the story and are confusing to the viewer. Sometimes it's hard to discern what is current action and what is history. This also tends to upset the emotional tone of the story. This movie is important in that it shows a younger generation how the Japanese were treated in this country during the war.

This is a magnificent adaptation of David Guterson's acclaimed book. Director Scott Hicks took on a gargantuan task in attempting to make the book into a film, not only because it was so powerful and well received, but because it was so lengthy and daedal. The result, however, was one of the best films I have seen in quite some time.

There were really three stories intricately interwoven into one. The main story was the trial of a Japanese American for the murder of a fisherman who owned the land wrongfully taken from the accused's father. The other two stories provide insight into critical events affecting the trial. The first involves the childhood love affair of local newspaperman Ishmael (Ethan Hawke) and Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), who is now the wife of the accused. He has uncovered information that can aid the defense, but his resentment for having been jilted by Hatsue stands in the way of his bringing it forth.

The second ancillary story is the persecution of Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during World War II. We see depictions of hatred and bigotry, as law abiding Japanese citizens are shamelessly herded into internment camps. This seething animus serves as the psychological backdrop for the trial, which occurs in the early 1950's when the memories of the war and lost loved ones is still fresh.

From a directorial and cinematography perspective, this film was nothing short of a masterpiece. It is a cinematic work of art. Between Hicks' brilliant camera perspectives and Robert Richardson's beautiful lighting and earth tone coloring, the film was resplendent in powerful and stirring images. Many were so artistically done that if made into snapshots they could easily hang in any art gallery. Each shot was meticulously thought out. Many involved complex shots through windows, silhouette backlighting, elaborate blocking, and scenes where actors, props and camera were all moving in different directions to create fabulously fluid perspective shots that slowly unfolded to revealed the scene's full content.

The editing was also fantastic. I have seen comparison's between this editing and `The Limey'. While there is some similarity in technique, this was far more elegant and flowing, whereas "The Limey" was jumpy and disconnected. This style of editing was absolutely necessary to adhere to the book's non linear format. Hicks needed to insert scenes that explained the feelings and motivations of the characters, and the only way to do this was with flashbacks and jump cuts. Despite the fact that such editing is disconcerting to a large majority of viewers, it was an artistic decision that was exactly right for the story, and seamlessly done. The same is true of the audio overlays with monologues of characters superimposed on one another, giving great power and emphasis to certain of the characters' lines.

The story itself, with all of its components, was engaging and well crafted. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to develop more of the characters. The scenes depicting the herding of the Japanese out of their homes for relocation were chilling. The courtroom scenes were realistic, not forsaking court procedure for dramatic effect, as is so common nowadays. The love scenes were sensitive, romantic and passionate without the need for sexual explicitness.

From an acting perspective, this was more of an ensemble production. All the actors gave wonderful performances, especially Youki Kudoh, who was torn between her love for Ishmael and her loyalty to her family and traditions. Kudoh was so emotionally involved with the part that she actually began crying during the featurette when recalling one of the scenes. Screen legend Max von Sydow was also fantastic as the aging defense attorney fighting and pleading for justice amidst the racial hatred.

This is a beautifully crafted film with a compelling story. It is a filmmaking 10/10. It has unfortunately not found a wide audience since its strongest elements are not areas of mass appeal. For the refined viewer who can appreciate filmmaking as an art, and enjoy an intriguing but deliberate story with exquisitely woven subtleties, this film is a delight. For those who prefer Hollywood's movie success formula of fast paced linear stories with lots of violence, profanity, clever one liners and raunchy sex, this film will bore them to death.

After the emotional wounds inherited from the WW2, there's a painful fact. A dead man emerges from the sea and rescued by two fishermen. The initial investigation will be the sparkling nerve of this mature story, in which a warmth love story will fade due a crucial decision: imposing wills with racism backstage dictating behavior codes; a sad story about two farmers who will negotiate seven acres of a productive land will converge by those random aggressions in a trial.

The confrontation goes far beyond a simple scheme of guilty or not guilty: the unobstructed passions will rule the scene till ...

Ethan Hawk makes an impressive role, his best achievement to date, with brilliant supporting characters such max Von Sydow as the defense attorney and James Cromwell as the Judge. The rest of the cast is splendid too; the dialogues are polished and concise; there is not excess of any sort.

The travellings in the forest are top notch ( you may realize a slender but visibly warmth homage to Kurosawa's Rashomon ) and the flash backs are simply sumptuous. This brilliant work once more is supported by a Judgment as dramatic device, follows the traces of exceptional previous films such Anatomy of a murder, Judgment at Nuremberg, To kill a mockingbird or Paths of Glory.

This is a genuine artwork. The handle of camera is ravishing as well as the lighting, edition and cinematography

There was an antecedent in a almost forgotten film of the middle fifties: John Sturguess' Bad day at Black Rock , dealing with the Anti Japanese phobia in an isolated town in the map. Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan were in top form with this picture.

Scott Hicks made an admirable movie

I read a review of this film a few years ago who's title was "Snow Falling Very Slowly on Cedars". It is somewhat appropriate, I guess, especially with today's instant gratification society coming to the forefront. With stellar action sequences in films like Star Wars and the like, films that build on characters and their lives tend to get less-than-gratifying reviews. Add to this that this film had quite a few historical references in it, and you've doomed it to be a "ploddingly slow film".

But nothing could be further from the truth...

The textures of this film are pretty darn impressive. There's a love story, a murder investigation, beautifully sculpted scenery (at sea and on land), war, concentration camps in America (disguised as "relocation camps"), prejudice, and a court battle, all rolled into this one simple film. And, quite amazingly, the film doesn't unravel. With all of these layers, the director (Scott Hicks, Shine), pulls off a stunning feat of visual candy and artistic sound.

The story is based on David Guterson's best selling novel by the same name, and Mr. Guterson was directly responsible for the script writing of the film (which is probably why the movie held together so well). It takes place in the 1950's where Kazuo, a Japanese-American, is on trial for the murder of Carl Heine, a white Norwegian fisherman. Coming off the heals of WW II, the trial is ready to ignite into a free-for-all of racial tensions. Americans still scorn all the Japanese for the destruction of Pearl Harbor (doesn't matter if you were a U.S. citizen at the time or not), and the Japanese-Americans remain bitter for being forced into "relocation/internment camps" in California and beyond (many Japanese-Americans lost everything they had during these "relocations"). But tempering the heat of the trial is a terrible blizzard raging around this small island in the San Juans (Washington State) where the story unfolds.

The film brushes us back and forth between the trial of Kazuo, WWII (during which Kazuo was a soldier fighting for the U.S.), a love story between an American boy, Ishmael (Ethan Hawke) and a VERY pretty Japanese girl named, Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), who will eventually forsake their young love and marry the very man who is on trial for murder, Kazuo.

Ishmael loses his right arm in the war and comes back doubly embittered at life. Not only did Hatsue leave him for one of her own, but a Japanese battle caused the loss of his limb. Now he's on the little island and covering the trial as a newspaper reporter, and his memories of the past intrude on the trials machinations. When he discovers some information that could clear Kazuo of the crime, can he let that information come out? Or will his battle-worn heart, soul, and body prevent it? Or perhaps his aching love of Hatsue will stop him (hoping that Kazuo is found guilty and sent away, thus allowing him to have a second chance at Hatsue)?

As you can see just from this simple review, the layers go deep, cutting, biting, and tearing into the flesh of the characters, all of whom are flawed, broken, and, quite possibly, reborn again as a full human being.

Notable amongst the cast is Ethan Hawke as Ishmael, Yoki Kudo as Hatsue, Max von Sydow as Nels (the curmudgeonly but affable defense attorney), James Cromwell as the sympathetic Judge Fielding, and Sam Shepard as Arthur Chambers (Ishmael's father and mentor).

A must see film for those interesting in characters, their flaws, their successes, and just being true to the human spirit.

Adapting this novel with its tricky, time-shifting narrative was always going to be a big task, but Scott Hicks pulls it off. He and co-writer Ron Bass move quickly into the courtroom and wisely use the trial to drive the plot, telling the backstory - the real story in this case - through a finely-woven complex of flashbacks. The difficulty is that this story is a rich, long and emotional tale which requires a fair degree of exposition for it to be satisfying. The screenplay is superbly economical in this regard, but there is no escaping the fact that the only way to cover so much ground in a film of tolerable length is to fly over it at 30,000 feet. The necessarily distant treatment this requires only occasionally dilutes the emotional force which would have come from a more thorough and leisurely telling. Hicks compensates with a powerfully emotive score - this works, but it doesn't always hit the mark. Rather than engendering emotion, James Newton Howard's music is often so insistently overpowering that it locks the audience out. But that's a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent production. Overall, this is an intelligent and considered adaptation - probably the best that could be made from a novel which would have been incredibly difficult to bring to the screen. It's solidly acted, immaculately lit, and offers some of the most achingly beautiful imagery to illuminate the screen in years. (The opening sequence is magnificent.) Most rewarding of all is the fact that Hicks takes some real stylistic risks with this film. They don't always pay off, but when they do it's magical.

There are different movies meant to be watched when you're in a specific mood. This is an excellent drama. The atmosphere of the whole movie is rather slow, but you wouldn't be watching this movie if you wanted guts and gore. The cinematography in Snow Falling On Cedars is breathtaking. The camera itself almost takes on its own character. I especially liked how Scott Hicks used special directing techniques such as overlapping dialogue to build the emotional impact at certain parts of the movie. The story itself is very moving as well, and I'm glad that ending is actually believable. Starting out after World War II, a Japanese American is accused of murder. The majority of the movie is told through flashbacks, and it tells of the relationship between an American man and a Japanese-American woman just before World War II. I highly recommend this movie, and the DVD, along with a great transfer, has a good amount of extras.