The Harimaya Bridge

It has a beautiful story which slowly captured my attention. I had never felt the Japanese were friendly towards Americans, especially after hearing stories form uncles who fought the Japanese in WWII. In this story Mickey a young American finds a world where he is accepted and loved as he teaches art to his students.

After Mickey's death his father, who acts rudely to the very accepting Japanese, arrives in Japan to acquire the belongings of his son only to find more than he was prepared to find.

The actors were exceptional, with a small part for Danny Glover! Hard to believe that this movie hasn't gotten more Awards/recognition!

Hariyama Bridge is a film about love, deeply ingrained racism and forgiveness all wonderfully filmed in Kochi, Japan.

The story follows a father, Daniel Holder (Bennet Guillory) who learns of his artist sons death in Japan. Daniel is a man who has a personal, deep seated dislike of the Japanese, nonetheless sets off to Japan to try and recover his estranged sons paintings. While in Japan he learns some surprising things about his sons life that force him to confront his feelings and change his future.

Whats nice about this movie is that it doesn't spend a lot of time on the tired theme of "a fish out of water", meaning that Daniels first arrival in Japan isn't spent on how out of place foreigners are in Japan and how unusual Japan can be. There is just enough camera work to show us that Daniel is indeed in a different world and what beauty there is to be seen.

What also is fresh about this story is that racism is spoken of, upfront and very clearly in a country that rarely admits that such things exist. At one point Daniel's helper Yuiko hints toward racism even amongst the Japanese themselves and how her life was altered because of it.

Some people may find the film slow going. Those that have lived in Japan will certainly not want to miss this. I myself have lived in Japan for more than 18 years and find the film all too real. Glad someone finally touched on a rarely seen topic.

I'm an American living in Tokyo, and I'd been waiting for this movie to come out. It's gotten a lot of buzz since last year, so I was very interested in seeing it. Fortunately it more than lives up to the hype. It's a very beautiful and moving film, and I can't recommend it enough.

The story concerns an African-American man who hates Japan, and who has a rift with his son when the son decides to come teach English here. The son dies in an accident, and the father must come to Japan to retrieve his son's artwork. The film follows the father as he learns to come to terms with his son's death, and as he discovers things about his son's life in Japan.

What's remarkable is how much this movie plays in many ways like a Japanese film, even though director and writer Aaron Woolfolk is an American. I read in an interview that he once lived here and returns to visit often. I guess Japan has really rubbed off on him.

I wonder how this film will play in America. It might be regarded as a little slow. And I certainly don't mean "slow" in a bad or boring way. Actually, THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE moves much more rapidly and with more energy than your typical Japanese drama. But I can see some of my countrymen with their MTV-influenced attention spans not being able to put up with the reduced pace of the film. Which would be a real shame, since much of the film's beauty and artistry comes from its pace.

Nonetheless, I think the movie is a great achievement. Especially since this is Woolfolk's first full-length film. The outstanding writing and the inspired direction go hand-in-hand. This is one of those movies where you feel like you're getting true insight into the filmmaker's mind, heart, and soul. Moreover, the acting, the camera work, and the music are all top-notch. The story is something new and fresh. And the message of the film is really wonderful. All of these things add up to me giving THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE my highest recommendation.

I really enjoyed this film. It's the feature debut of Aaron Woolfolk. I'd seen one of his shorts before about a train station in Japan. But it's clear he has more to say!

The great Danny Glover gives an excellent performance in a supporting role, but it's Bennet Guillory who shines as a stubborn father who has to come to terms with his estranged son (played by Victor Grant). I was less familiar with the Japanese actors but now want to see more of them including Saki Takaoaka who is a big deal in Japan.

The film is beautifully shot with stunning cinematography. You really feel like you're in rural Japan (and San Francisco where parts of the film also take place). Check it out on Netflix, DVD or Bluray.

I just saw this film in the theater yesterday and was completely blown away by it. I am somewhat of a film buff, but I can not remember ever before being so moved, so entertained and so utterly wrapped up in a movie before.

I need not say anything about the plot as the blurb here on IMDb says it all --beside which what is really important is how the story unfolds. The pacing was wonderfully done and the camera work was beautiful. There were minimal lighting effects and/or after-effects used so the picture had a more realistic feel which I felt was a good decision as it forced the director to pay careful attention to the framing of each scene and let the beautiful scenery speak for itself in order to create a visual dimension to the poetry that is the story.

As moving as the visuals are, the amazing soundtrack also needs to be commended. Some scenes employ no background music and instead rely on natural sounds or the bustling of the town etc. while other scenes really benefit from the background music that accompanies the visuals.

The actors all deserve commendations for their amazing work. There were relatively few lines spoken in the film but each was delivered with maximum effect which, along with subtle body language managed to not only properly convey the story but to add an honesty and intensity that really drew me into the character's world.

The overall direction is also superb; the way that the director brings together all these assets (beautiful locations, talented actors, gorgeous photography/music and compelling story) and wraps it all up with his clever framing/cinematography is truly amazing. The last scene stands out most in my mind where the titular bridge finally makes its appearance. While the voice-over finally explains why the bridge is so important (literally and symbolically) the camera pans carefully to give us a visual metaphor as well.

Lastly, the story is simple and yet the presentation reveals unexpected depth offering viewers some lessons which everyone could do with hearing again.