The Japanese Wife Review

 What is it all about?

In the age when borrowed experiments techniques and trend define the growth of cinema, but fails to find its audience, Aparna's film demands an audience. `The Japanese Wife' is right up there and stands taller than those adventures revolving moving cameras and other stylers who have all the technique but not an elevating content.  

Love knows no boundaries, language or age in this simple yet rich, touchy, moving, engaging and elating love saga `The Japanese Wife'. Aparna Sen's (36 Chowringhee Lane, Mr and Mrs. Iyyer, 15 Park Avenue) mastery is clearly visible as she handles a difficult subject with such ease, simplicity and beauty keeping the viewers engaged emotionally throughout.

The Story...of course

Snehamoy (Rahul Bose), a schoolteacher in the Sunderbans, and Miyage (Chigusa Takaku), a young girl in Japan, meet through letters, fall in love over letters, and even get married through letters! They have been married for 15 years . but have never met.  

The movie is about the lives of this two who had gone a long in love.

What to look out for?

Aparna's direction is deceptively simple and unaffected.  Though the story is placed at a remote village in Bengal where the protagonist gets involved with her pen friend - a Japanese girl via letters not email as their heart strings the song of love with pleasant background by Sagar Desai for support, audience respond to the expert tuning.

`The Japanese Wife' scores primarily by being traditional and following the rule of cinema with keen devotion. The climax is a moment to cherish which makes `The Japanese Wife' a loving chapter in India's cinematic sensibilities.

`The Japanese Wife' turns out to be so Indian with the helpings from its dramatic restraint and warmth.

A great big romantic bear hug of a film, `The Japanese Wife' has the old Bengali masters feel, Cinematography by Anay Goswami appears to be substantially conducted in natural light, which is both exquisite to behold and heightens the sense of realism. Rest of the technical package is first rate. The movie has splendid movements which underline the human bonding in bold like when the Japanese women Miyage brilliantly played by Chigusa Takaku proposes to the Bengali teacher Snehamoy marvelously portrayed by Rahul Bose(an extra pat for the diction work), he wonders and doubts whether the Japanese lady will be able to adjust to the available condition. the loo for example, the lady replies `why you men are so stupid, the important thing is we are getting married'. The on and off conversation on phone. The wait for the letters. The exchange of gifts. Kite flying competition. Shehamoy efforts to cure his ailing Japanese wife through correspondence. Shehamoy honest conversation with his wife where he shares even his slight distractions. The bonding between the two where she stitches sweaters sitting in Japan for her mother-in-law (Moushumi Chatterjee - what a performance) and she being proud. He wearing Japanese sandals, she wearing saree. 

Such moments which are closer to life impressively elevates the movie.

Raima Sen also manages to deliver a decent performance and makes herself being noticed.

`The Japanese Wife' again proves that Aparna Sen belongs to the rare breed of gifted talent we have and kudos to Saregama for backing such a tough project. 

The movie achieves a near-perfect fusion of content and substance making it a beautiful, touchy, film of recent times.

What not?

The sequence of Rahul visiting different doctors, physician from every field could have been reduced.

Conclusion: The movie bows to the thinking sensible audience demands who appreciate cinema. The film has the potential for dedicated niche audience anywhere.

Ratings: ****