Histoire écrite sur l'eau

The director of this movie, Yoshishige Yoshida (Sometimes pronounced Kijyu Yoshida) always had Avant Garde taste to his movies. He was one of the directors that were part of movement called Nuberu bagu ( from the French nouvelle vague) or Japanese New Wave. This can be seen in movie such as Amai Yoru No Hate (1961) starring Masahiko Tsugawa. So this movie was a perfect match for the director. The movie also stars his wife Mariko Okada as the mother of the two sons.

The original title Mizu de Kakareta Monogatari (Story written with water) is an appropriate title if you consider women as water. The story revolves around the relation between Shizuka (Mariko Okada) and Denzo (Isao Yamagata) who were having a long time affair even while Shizuka was still married to her husband Takao. This puts doubt on her son Shizuo about who his real father is. But one day Shizuo is recommended to marry Yumiko (Ruriko Asaoka) from his mother and Denzo. While having no enmity to his mother, Shizuo had despised Denzo for his strength and relation with his mother. After the marriage, Shizuo asks Denzo if he might be his son, and marriage with Yumiko would be a marriage between brother and a sister. Denzo denies the accusation, but he's not 100% sure, and distraught over the thought gets into car accident. Shizuo lost all faith has no more desire for Yumiko, and asks his mother to commit suicide with him.

Based on a novel by Yojiro Ishizaka, this movie is a superb depiction of human relationship and what long range effect illicit relationship can have. There are beautiful women in this world. Maybe too beautiful, and that beauty causes both men and women to lose their ways. This is such story. Yojiro Ishizaka has writing style like no other. He's one of the great novelist of the 20th century. No one can write love romance/ human drama like he can. This movie is no exception.

The movie features slew of beautiful women, that convinces you that resisting sexual advance from such beauty is almost impossibly difficult. Yet that beauty and all the power and wealth of Denzo couldn't bring happiness to the people around them. That tells us something.

Beautifully made movie, is one of the best director Kijyu Yoshida has made.

It is well shot, some beautiful sections and good dialogue but it is rather slow and unpleasant, and the subtitles can be too fast. The couple are getting married but we learn that the husband is still very close to his mother who has had a long affair with his fiancee's father. Much of the action is in the past when the man is still a child and his father is dying. There is some confusion as to who is his real father. Even if it is rather complicated, although very well done, but there is also more than a suggestion of incest and in the end it is a rather long melodrama for really just four people and I found them unlikable.