Filmmaker Naomi Kawase has been a soft spoken staple at the Cannes film festival ever since being the youngest recipient to win the Camera d’Or for her debut feature film Suzaku. Known for a subdued lyrical style peppered with symbolism and metaphors, Kawase’s latest film Hanezu continues this tradition to varying degrees of success. The title’s meaning represents a certain shade of red, used in ancient Japan poetry that is meant to evoke imagery of blood, the sun and fire. In Kawase’s film, the enigmatic director attempts to represent the Asukua region of Japan, an ancient birthplace of much of the countries deep rooted sense of culture, through an allegorical tale of two lovers whose quietness becomes their undoing. Despite being beautifully shot by the director herself, Hanezu has a pervasive feeling of simplicity in hopes of the audience finding deeper meaning for what the film is supposed to represent.
- 5/24/2011
- by Raffi Asdourian
- The Film Stage
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.