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Kawase Naomi is a Japanese director born in Nara in 1969. As a woman who experienced the 80s economic bubble and it’s decline and who was born in a conflicted household and raised by her great-aunt, her art use a documentarian’s gaze approach to focus on individuals of less cultural status, women representation, the economical crisis, Japanese modern society and its impact on traditional family structure. Kawase’s movies also happen to be an ode to Japanese nature and spirituality.
Becoming the youngest winner of the ‘La Caméra d’Or’ award at Cannes in 1997 for Suzaku, her cinematography is internationally recognized and Still The Water was nominated for many awards at international film festivals.
Shooted in Amami Oshima subtropical island (Kagoshima’s prefecture), Still The Water (Futatsume no mado- The second window in japanese) that Kawase Naomi personally described as her ‘masterpiece’ tells the story of two teenagers lovers Kyoko and Kaito and their discovery for the cycle of life through experiences of life, death and love.
The slow rhythm of the movie lets you immerse yourself in the island’s way of life and appreciate its magnificence. Amami’s nature is portrayed as a holy figure, omnipresent, breathtakingly beautiful and powerful yet sometimes damagingly strong. This feeling is emphasised by the role of Kyoko’s mother Isa, a dying shaman.
The movie is also beautifully interpreted by the pure and sensitive acting of at the time amateur young actors Yoshinaga Jun and Murakami Nijiro and more experienced actors Sugimoto Tetta and Matsuda Miyuki.
As this movie is an opportunity to discover another side of Japan through its southern culture, I recommend it to you and hope that it will make you appreciate the beauty of Kagoshima even more and encourage you to visit us soon.