Voyage à Yoshino

At times it has the feeling of an amateur photo contest slide show, at other times a study in pedestrian story telling, sprinkled with Zen calendar wisdom.

The misty cedar forests and mountains of Japan are rumored to contain a rare medicinal fungus so powerful that it cures weaknesses of the soul. This is what lures Jeanne (Juliette Binoche) from France. An amiable yet skeptical forest ranger, Tomo, helps her search. In waterfalls, the soothing sounds of mountain hawks and Japanese cicadas, and gentle breezes, Jeanne and Tomo discover a world beyond the barriers of language and culture. Happiness is communicated in touch. Scents are realized as soon as they are imagined. We are never alone. Love and nature are like waves, they never stop. It is then, however, that a close friend of Tomo - a fellow keeper of the forest - disappears. Storms and darkness intensify. Jeanne and Tomo are left to wonder what can restore the balance.

Vision follows a typical Japanese anime theme about renewing the spirit of nature. This theme is ethereal, radiant and immensely fulfilling, yet the director manages to keep the film grounded and tangible. Binoche, versatile and sympathetic, helps her manage this feat. Like one of those little shrines that one sees throughout the country, the unique and charming culture of Japan is auspicious and resplendent. Certain nuances of Vision could be better managed including some awkward scenes and a cheesy CGI marred ending. Seen at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

There is such reverence shown to nature here, in how the clouds move across the sky, the sunlight is reflected like diamonds in the water, the trees sway in the wind, and the ethereal mist shrouds the landscape. I love what I think director/writer Naomi Kawase was going for, and only wish the storytelling was a little more lucid, especially in the second half. Genuine connection, the need for simplicity, the renewal of nature, the fundamental flaw with humanity ... a meditation on all that accompanied by beautiful forest scenery is great stuff, and it was certainly nice to see Juliette Binoche here as well. The themes just aren't synthesized very well, leading to a disappointed feeling at the end.

Film with an excellent Juliette Binoche. I watched the film till the end, I liked the actors, I didn't like the story. In reality there is no story at all. This film is a little crazy. That's all.

It is certainly a beautiful movie, but also very soporific.