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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A BEAUTIFUL, HYPNOTIC FILM..., September 6, 2005
I had never heard of this film, but when I stumbled upon it in the video store, I found its premise fascinating. As the film explains, with the advent of photography, the Asian tradition of arranged marriages became modernized in the early twentieth century, allowing families and matchmakers to meet, using photographs of the prospective brides and bridegrooms in lieu of face-to-face meetings. This was especially convenient, when the parties sought to be matched lived in far-flung parts of the country or even different parts of the world. This film explores this phenomena within the context of the so-called "picture brides" of Hawai'i. It is estimated that between 1907 and 1924, approximately twenty thousand young Asian woman from Japan, Okinawa, and Korea, became "picture brides", leaving their native country and journeying to Hawai'i to become the wives of men that they had never met. This film is a composite of their stories and experiences.
The story begins in 1918 in Yokahama, where a beautiful, young, Japanese woman named Riyo Nakamura (Youki Kudoh) is left an orphan, having just buried her father. It seems that both her parents have died of a disease that stigmatizes Riyo in terms of her marriage prospects. Shortly after, Riyo's Aunt Sode (Yoko Sugi) visits a matchmaker. She then presents her niece with a photograph of a young, handsome man. She tells her niece that his name is Matsuji Kimura and that he is a sugar cane farmer in Hawai'i. Her aunt hopes that Hawai'i is far enough away so that Riyo's prospective husband will not know how her parents died. With Riyo's assent, the marriage is arranged.
When Riyo arrives in Hawai'i, dressed in western style clothing, she gets the shock of her life. It seems that she is not the only one with secrets. It turns out that the photograph that Matsuji Kimura (Akira Takayama) had sent was one that had evidently been taken many years earlier, as the man who meets her at the dock turns out to be even older than Riyo's deceased father. A group marriage then takes place, as she is but one of many "picture brides" arriving. Shocked by the deception, which apparently was quite common at the time, with men routinely sending old photographs or substituting photographs of their better looking friend, the reluctant Riyo accompanies her new husband to her new home. She is clearly not a happy camper. Riyo, a city girl, is in for a further shock, discovering that her home is deep in the country and is nothing more than a tiny wooden shack in the middle of nowhere.
The next day, she discovers the fate that awaits her. She is taken to a sugar cane plantation, where she is expected to work in the fields from morning til dusk for sixty-five cents a day. It is there that her husband also works. Riyo decides then and there that she will work as hard as she can to save money to return to Japan. She makes a friend, a beautiful, young, earthy woman named Kana (Tamlyn Tomita) with whom she bonds. Kana is married to a handsome, young man named Kanzaki with whom she has a child. The hard working Kana is also a laundress, in addition to being a field worker, and Riyo joins Kana as a partner in her laundry business in order to be able to save more money and expedite her return to Japan.
As her friendship develops with Kana, Riyo discovers that Kana and her husband have a tempestuous marriage. While passionate, it is also filled with violence, as Kanzaki is unmanned by his inability to provide for his wife and child in the way that he would wish. Meanwhile, Matsuji is a patient man, who has not forced himself on his wife, knowing her aversion to him. He is kind to her, despite knowing that she is working very hard to save money in order to return to Japan and be rid of him. Little by little, however, he grows on her, as a mutual affection begins to develop, and Riyo learns to appreciate his good qualities.
The film tells the story of Riyo and the reality of her life in Hawai'i. It shows what life was like for her, as well as the development of her relationship with Matsuji. Hers is the story of many women who were "picture brides" at the time. It is a beautifully told tale on many levels. It captures much of the story of those who were actual "picture brides", from the singing in the fields, to the hardships sustained, and the despair sometimes felt at their lot in life, often juxtaposed with contentment.
There is even a special treat in the film where the legendary and much revered Japanese actor, Toshiro Mifune, plays the role of a Benshi, which was a silent picture narrator. In Japan, Benshis would often have their own following, depending upon their narrative skills, with people flocking to hear a particular Benshi narrate a film. This would be Toshiro Mifune's final film role, before succumbing to the ravages of Parkinson's disease in 1997.
This is the first feature length film for filmmaker Kayo Hatta, and the first feature length film by an Asian-American woman. It won the coveted 1995 Sundance Film Festival Audience Choice Award. Having seen the film it is not surprising, as the film tells such a compelling story. Moreover, the cinematography is exquisite in this film, and the acting is first rate. It is hard to believe that the film was made on a shoe string budget by a first time feature film director. One would never know it from seeing the film, as it is a quality film directed with a seeming sure hand. I am only glad that Miramax Studio had the good sense to pick up this film. Bravo!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Such a gorgeous film!, July 31, 2000
Stunning cinematography and an engaging plot make this film a must-see, especially for Japanophiles and social historians. You experience the emotions of a Japanese "picture bride," who must find a way to live with an elderly stranger for a husband, in a place far from home. The circumstances which bring her to Hawaii are also a fascinating education in superstitions and prejudices existing at the turn of the century on both sides of the Pacific. Just beautiful.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Deceptive Pastoral, June 12, 2006
Caught between a rock and a hard place, "Picture Brides" succumb to the "push" factors that force them to leave their homes (in this case Japan) to marry "site unseen" (except for a picture of a man halfway across the world) in this case, Hawaii.
Picture Bride centers around the life and time of the fictional Riyo (Youki Kudoh - who made the character "Pumpkin" in Memoirs of a Geisha famous), a 17-year-old who leaves Yokohama, Japan; in order to marry a man (as mentioned previously) she's never met. Set in Hawaii in 1918, Matsuji (Akira Takayama) it is revealed lied about his age. He is 25 years older than she is. Their relationship is unsatisfactory to both sides - her from the betrayal and him, well, you do the math. In the interim, Riyo, formerly of Yokohama is having difficulty coping with her new conditions - working in the sugar fields with one leg in Hawaii and another trying to book passage back "home."
Riyo meets up and forms a bond with Kana (Tamlyn Tomita), who teaches her to earn extra money by doing laundry for others after work in the fields - she fuels a dream to go home. Riyo, as previously mentioned is desperately trying to get back to Japan, puts money away until she slowly begins to see her condition from a different perspective - she will become a settler.
The movie is sensitively directed by Kayo Hatta. Hatta does an incredible job maneuvering this already tense drama which sets the stage for the likes of Snow Falling on Cedars but was presaged by Come See Paradise. Engaging in yet a different version of the deceptive pastoral, the movie is set in picturesque Hawaii.
Picture Bride is a tribute to the resilience of immigrants and an amazing filmic representation of a narrative that would have otherwise gone silent.
Miguel Llora
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