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Norwegian Wood
ノルウェイの森
2010 134 min Japan, Netherlands 18+
★6.4
Drama, Romance
Director: Anh Hung Tran
🎭 Based on
«Norwegian Wood»
byHaruki Murakami
Trailers
Description
Toru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.
US Gross:
$13,000
Worldwide:
$17.64M
Starring
Ken'ichi Matsuyama
Actor
Rinko Kikuchi
Actor
Kiko Mizuhara
Actor
Awards
Asian Film Academy 2011
— Best Cinematography
Asian Film Academy 2011
— Best Costume Design
Venice Film Festival 2010
— Golden Lion
Asian Film Academy 2011
— Best Cinematography
Key opinion
Tran Anh Hung’s adaptation of Norwegian Wood is a polarizing visual meditation that successfully captures the atmospheric melancholy of Murakami’s novel but struggles with narrative cohesion. While devotees appreciate the aesthetic fidelity and emotional tone, many viewers find the film disjointed, inaccessible, and lacking the depth of the original source material.
| Cinematography | Breathtaking cinematography and carefully crafted natural scenery effectively ground the film's meditative, melancholic tone. | |
| Adaptation | The film acts as an aesthetic companion piece that is highly dependent on prior knowledge of the novel to make sense of its truncated narrative and character arcs. | |
| Pacing | The fragmented and rapid pacing sacrifices the depth of the novel's character development, leading to a disjointed viewing experience for some. | |
| Acting | Performances are often viewed as either restrained and elegant or frustratingly flat and lifeless, dividing audiences on their emotional resonance. |