The Ginger Tree

"The Ginger Tree" spans nearly half a century of history in Japan and tells the story of a woman from Scotland who marries in China and then spends most of her life in Japan. It is a story of love set in a time when women had few rights in Japan and, yet, this woman persevered and excelled. All the drama takes place during a time in history little known by Westerners and the film drama serves to open one's eyes to life in a different culture and different time. There are many sub-themes and one can get a feel for Japan during those crucial pre-WWII years that has not been portrayed in any other film I've seen. It is a shame this film is not available and it has been 10 years since it was first shown. The acting is superb and sensitive in this story of courage and adventure of a woman who was truly 'before her time.' At present, all attempts to locate a copy of this film have been to no avail. Hopefully, some organization will realize how important a drama this is and market it for general viewing.

I have been searching for a video copy of The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd for many years. Of all the series I have viewed on PBS over the years, this particularly beautiful and bittersweet love story that bridges two very different cultures had the most profound effect on me. Though I have read the book several times, it just makes me more eager to experience the film again. I have contacted representatives from WETA in Alexandria, VA, but they don't believe that they will ever purchase the rights to even air it again. What a disappointment! Is there no way to contact the producers directly? One can hardly believe that it is lost to potential purchasers.

This is a compelling, beautifully composed story of cross cultures, race, gender roles, and stereotypes. The acting was superb and the characters well developed. It also demonstrates how love can endure, even through difficult choices and sacrifices. Set in the same era as Puccini's Madama Butterfly, it shows us a time and place that was once exotic during a time when class and family customs trumped personal choice.

Oswald Wynd's book of the same name, and from which this series was created, is a good read, but this visually stunning mini-series is worth seeing again and again. PBS no longer has the rights to show it, so, for the moment, it is lost to all of us. I have been looking for this to come out, first on VHS, and now on DVD to no avail.

This series is now available in the UK. When it was originally transmitted I had no means of recording and only managed to see the last two episodes, but I was very impressed and had always wanted to watch the whole thing.

The background detail of life in early twentieth-century Japan is most interesting and the drama extremely moving. Mary's family circumstances and her reasons for marrying on such a brief acquaintance are very much left to the imagination. Presumably she was afraid of being left 'on the shelf' with no career to occupy her mind.

When Armand tells her about the ginkgo tree I wondered if a misunderstanding of this was the reason for the title, but no, it is all explained in the last episode.

Like other reviewers here, I saw the original in the UK when it came out. That was the first time I saw Samantha Bond who has gone on to become a very popular actress. At the time I was living in London and had something of a fascination for Japanese culture so for me this series was spell binding.

The love story is beautiful done; we feel for the woman who loves not just another man, but a man from another culture during a time when this was an absolute "no". Then to have her child taken from her, our heart strings are pulled in the extreme. A good movie or series starts with superb writing and this was certainly that.

The Japanese man who played the lead was excellent, as was Samantha Bond. The sets, the production captured the essence of the Japanese way of life and feel of the setting in Japan.

I too would love to be able to see this series, in its original entirety, once again. Let's hope somehow that happens.