Norwegian Wood (film) explained

Norwegian Wood
Director:Tran Anh Hung
Screenplay:Tran Anh Hung
Music:Jonny Greenwood
Cinematography:Mark Lee Ping Bin
Editing:Mario Battistel
Distributor:Toho
Runtime:133 minutes
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Gross:USD$17.6 million[1]

is a 2010 Japanese romantic drama film written and directed by Tran Anh Hung, based on the 1987 novel by Haruki Murakami. It was released in Japan on 11 December 2010.[2] The score was composed by Jonny Greenwood.

Plot

Toru Watanabe is a quiet and serious young man in 1960s Tokyo whose personal life is in tumult, having lost his best friend Kizuki after he inexplicably commits suicide. Seeking an escape, Toru enters a university in Tokyo. By chance, during a walk in a park, Toru meets Kizuki's ex-girlfriend Naoko, and they grow close. Naoko continues to be devastated by the loss of Kizuki and spirals into a deep depression.[3]

Toru sleeps with Naoko on her 20th birthday. Shortly afterwards, Naoko withdraws from the world and leaves for a sanitarium in a remote forest setting near Kyoto. Toru is anguished by the situation, as he still has deep feelings for Naoko, but she is unable to reciprocate. He also lives with the influence of death everywhere, while Naoko feels as if some integral part of her has been permanently lost. He continues with his studies, and during the spring semester meets an attractive girl and fellow student Midori, who is everything that Naoko is not—outgoing, vivacious, and supremely self-confident. The story then follows Toru as he is torn between the two women in his life, and choosing between his past and his future.

Cast

Soundtrack

The score was composed by Jonny Greenwood.[4] He used a Japanese nylon-strung guitar with home recording equipment from the 1960s, attempting to create a recording that one of the characters might have made.[5]

Release

This film debuted in the 67th Venice International Film Festival where it competed for the Golden Lion.[6] It was then subsequently released in Japanese cinemas on 11 December 2010.

In the United Kingdom, it was released on 11 March 2011.[7] In the United States, the film had a limited release on 6 January 2012 in New York City and Washington D.C.[8] In Canada, the film was released on 2 March 2012.[9]

Reception

The Daily Telegraph said that Hung was "brave" to attempt to adapt Murakami's 1987 novel but that "the film comes across as a mere summary of Murakami's book".[10] Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that it "registers less as a coherent narrative than as a tortuous reverie steeped in mournful yearning".[11]

Accolades

Film FestivalDate of ceremonyCategoryParticipants/RecipientsResult
2 September 2010 Norwegian Wood
35th Toronto International Film Festival[12] 9 September 2010 Special Presentations Norwegian Wood Participant
7th Dubai International Film Festival[13] 12 December 2010Muhr Asia Africa Norwegian Wood
Muhr Asia Africa Best Composer Jonny Greenwood
5th Asian Film Awards[14] 21 March 2011 Best Actress
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
30th Istanbul International Film Festival[15] April 2011 FIPRESCI Tran Anh Hung

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Norwegian Wood box office gross . Box Office Mojo . 19 April 2012 . 29 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120129201845/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/default.htm?id=norwegianwood.htm . live .
  2. Web site: Nippon Cinema (Norwegian Wood Trailer). 22 December 2010. © 2006-2010 Nippon Cinema. 1 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110401024411/http://www.nipponcinema.com/trailers/norwegian-wood-trailer. dead.
  3. Web site: Fuji TV site . 23 March 2011 . Fuji Television Network, Inc. . 7 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110707212912/http://www.fujitv.co.jp/en/s_window/mp.html#2 . live.
  4. Web site: Cdjapan . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20121019143046/http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=SICP-2900 . 19 October 2012 . 8 March 2011 . Neowing.
  5. Web site: Woolfrey . Chris . 18 February 2014 . A Quietus Interview Music (For A Film): Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead interviewed . live . https://archive.today/20140223233120/http://thequietus.com/articles/14514-jonny-greenwood-radiohead-interview . 23 February 2014 . 2016-06-22 . The Quietus.
  6. Web site: Venezia 67 . . October 24, 2010 . October 24, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101024023042/http://www.labiennale.org:80/en/cinema/festival/lineup/off-sel/venezia67/venezia67.html?currentpage=3 . dead.
  7. Web site: Adams . Mark . Beautiful Japanese romantic drama Norwegian Wood . Mirror.co.uk . 5 March 2011 . 22 April 2011 . 21 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110721192211/http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv-entertainment/film/film-reviews/mark-adams/2011/03/05/beautiful-japanese-romantic-drama-norwegian-wood-115875-22968731/ . live .
  8. Web site: "Norwegian Wood" Opens in US Theaters; Soundtrack Featuring Jonny Greenwood Score Available on Nonesuch Records . Nonesuch Records . 6 January 2012 . 23 March 2012 . 5 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120205210240/http://www.nonesuch.com/journal/norwegian-wood-opens-us-theaters-soundtrack-featuring-jonny-greenwood-score-available-nonesuch-records-2012-01-06 . live .
  9. Web site: Film Friday: Project X, Norwegian Wood, Dr. Seuss' the Lorax and more . Nowtoronto.com . 2 March 2012 . 23 March 2012 . 7 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120707214436/http://www.nowtoronto.com/daily/movies/story.cfm?content=185518 . dead .
  10. Web site: Norwegian Wood, review . 23 March 2011 . Telegraph Media Group Limited . Sukhdev . Sandhu . 10 March 2011 . 13 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110313030552/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8373820/Norwegian-Wood-review.html . live .
  11. News: 'Norwegian Wood,' From Haruki Murakami Novel - Review - Young Love as Divine, but a Perilous Insanity. The New York Times. Stephen Holden. Stephen Holden. 5 January 2012. 16 December 2016. 20 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220192724/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/movies/norwegian-wood-from-haruki-murakami-novel-review.html. live.
  12. Web site: Toronto International Film Festival Website . 15 January 2011 . tiff.net . 27 December 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101227005538/http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/norwegianwood . dead .
  13. Web site: Dubai International Film Festival Website. 15 January 2011. Dubai International Film Festival. https://web.archive.org/web/20110724061921/http://www.dubaifilmfest.com/index.php/en/movie_details/norwegian-wood/9061/2010/1_a-n_i-223. 24 July 2011. dead.
  14. Web site: 5th AFA Nominees by Film . 5 March 2011 . asianfilmawards.asia. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111204032241/http://www.asianfilmawards.asia/2011/5th-nominees-and-winners/5th-afa-nominees-winners-by-film/#film16 . 4 December 2011 .
  15. Web site: Istanbul 2011 . 5 September 2012 . FIPRESCI . 14 June 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120614230739/http://www.fipresci.org/festivals/archive/2011/istanbul/intro.htm . dead .
    Web site: Istanbul Film Festival Daily / 17 April . . April 18, 2011 . November 30, 2023 . November 30, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231130071218/https://www.filmneweurope.com/press-releases/item/8221-istanbul-film-festival-daily---17-april . live.

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