Brimming with magical realism, sensuality, and humor, the final film by revered filmmaker Shohei Imamura tells the story of Yosuke Sasano (Koji Yakusho), an unemployed salaryman who arrives in a remote fishing village following a rumor of hidden treasure. Instead, he meets Saeko Aizawa (Misa Shimizu), a charming and unusual woman with a unique problem: a well of warm water inside her longing for release. Saeko faces both shame and adoration for her condition, which the local anglers believe feeds the river and its fish. Intrigued and enamored, Yosuke decides to take up a new life as a fisherman. Through their passionate affair, Imamura paints a picture of longing, fantasy, and the search for true happiness in the most unexpected of places that’s both “nonchalantly freaky and uncommonly pleasurable” (Michael Atkinson, The Village Voice).
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Video Quality
Warm Water Under A Red Bridge comes to Blu-Ray with a new digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio derived from a recent digital restoration. The presentation is quite formidable when it comes to the overall detail quality as elements are favorably defined with very little in the way of blemishes or any sort of digital artifacts. There may be a few minute specks of print damage lingering, but overall clarity and detail is mighty impressive. The shots inside of Saeko’s house are packed with discrete details in the production design that are readily apparent thanks to this transfer. The picture loses a slight amount of crispness in long shots and shadowy moments, but this barely registers as an issue.
Where some may find issues with this release is in the color grade, which runs very golden throughout the entire runtime. Having never seen this film before, it is hard to discern how honest this is to the original intention of Shohei Imamura. With this blanket grade, there is not a vast range of colors to populate the frame. What colors make it through are decently saturated. Black levels hold up well with very little in the way of crush, and digital noise does not present as an issue here. There is a lot to appreciate about this transfer, but the concern over the color grade tempers the enthusiasm just a bit.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with an agreeable LPCM 2.0 Master Audio track in the original Japanese with optional English subtitles. The dialogue always holds up well and never gets overshadowed by competing sounds. Environmental noises such as the water and other sound effects are rendered favorably alongside everything else. The music in the film sounds great throughout with top notch fidelity. There does not seem to be any significant instances of age-related wear and tear. Film Movement Classics has done a standout job with the audio portion of the disc.
Special Features
This Blu-Ray set includes a multi-page booklet featuring the essay “She Shall Redeem The Man” by film scholar Hwang Kyunmin. The essay provides a great analysis of the themes of the story, composition and more. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Messy and Juicy: A 10-minute visual essay by author and film curator Tom Vick who discusses how this film acts as the final film from Shohei Imamura, the director’s preference for exploring working class characters, the way this film acts as a deconstructed fairytale, how the director introduces some of his classic stylistic choices and much more that makes this a rewarding listen.
- Trailers: The two-minute trailer for Warm Water Under A Red Bridge is presented here. There are also trailers provided for Oh Lucy! and Wheel Of Fortune and Fantasy.
Final Thoughts
Warm Water Under A Red Bridge has one of the more bizarre concepts you will come across, but the film exists far beyond simple shock value or sideshow attraction. The story is treated with emotional honesty which flows through and out of the characters to touch on something deeper inside. All of the main performers do a really excellent job, especially when it comes to making this concept palatable. Director Shohei Imamura does understand the silly aspects at play and does allow for quite a bit of levity to keep the tone balanced and lively. It is a worthy final film for his legacy. Film Movement Classics has released a Blu-Ray that features a pretty good A/V presentation and an informative visual essay. Those up for something a bit quirky should give this a chance. Recommended
Warm Water Under A Red Bridge is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Film Movement Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
