Norwegian Wood (film)

Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森, Noruwei no Mori) is a 2010 Japanese romantic drama film directed by Tran Anh Hung, based on the 1987 novel by Haruki Murakami. It was released in Japan on 11 December 2010.[2] The score was composed by Jonny Greenwood.

Norwegian Wood
Film poster
Directed byTran Anh Hung
Screenplay byTran Anh Hung
Based onNorwegian Wood
by Haruki Murakami
Produced by
  • Chihiro Kameyama
  • Shinji Ogawa
Starring
CinematographyMark Lee Ping Bin
Edited byMario Battistel
Music byJonny Greenwood
Distributed byToho
Release dates
  • 2 September 2010 (2010-09-02) (Venice)
  • 11 December 2010 (2010-12-11) (Japan)
Running time
133 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box officeUSD$17.6 million[1]

Plot

Toru Watanabe is a quiet and serious young man in 1960s Tokyo whose personal life is in tumult, having lost his best friend Kizuki after he inexplicably commits suicide. Seeking an escape, Toru enters a university in Tokyo. By chance, during a walk in a park, Toru meets Kizuki's ex-girlfriend Naoko, and they grow close. Naoko continues to be devastated by the loss of Kizuki and spirals into a deep depression.[3]

Toru sleeps with Naoko on her 20th birthday. Shortly afterwards, Naoko withdraws from the world and leaves for a sanitarium in a remote forest setting near Kyoto. Toru is anguished by the situation, as he still has deep feelings for Naoko, but she is unable to reciprocate. He also lives with the influence of death everywhere, while Naoko feels as if some integral part of her has been permanently lost. He continues with his studies, and during the spring semester meets an attractive girl and fellow student Midori, who is everything that Naoko is not—outgoing, vivacious, and supremely self-confident. The story then follows Toru as he is torn between the two women in his life, and choosing between his past and his future.

Cast

Soundtrack

The score was composed by Jonny Greenwood.[4] He used a Japanese nylon-strung guitar with home recording equipment from the 1960s, attempting to create a recording that one of the characters might have made.[5]

Release

This film debuted in the 67th Venice International Film Festival where it competed for the Golden Lion.[6] It was then subsequently released in Japanese cinemas on 11 December 2010.[2]

In the United Kingdom, it was released on 11 March 2011.[7] In the United States, the film had a limited release on 6 January 2012 in New York City and Washington D.C.[8] In Canada, the film was released on 2 March 2012.[9]

Reception

The Daily Telegraph said that Hung was "brave" to attempt to adapt Murakami's 1987 novel but that "the film comes across as a mere summary of Murakami's book".[10] Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that it "registers less as a coherent narrative than as a tortuous reverie steeped in mournful yearning".[11]

Accolades
Film Festival Date of ceremony Category Participants/Recipients Result
67th Venice International Film Festival[6]2 September 2010Golden LionNorwegian WoodNominated
35th Toronto International Film Festival[12]9 September 2010Special PresentationsNorwegian WoodParticipant
7th Dubai International Film Festival[13] 12 December 2010 Muhr Asia AfricaNorwegian WoodNominated
Muhr Asia Africa Best ComposerJonny GreenwoodWon
5th Asian Film Awards[14]21 March 2011Best ActressRinko KikuchiNominated
Best CinematographyMark Lee Ping-binWon
Best Costume DesignYen-khe LuguernNominated
30th Istanbul International Film Festival[15]April 2011FIPRESCITran Anh HungWon

References
  1. "Norwegian Wood box office gross". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  2. "Nippon Cinema (Norwegian Wood Trailer)". © 2006-2010 Nippon Cinema. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  3. "Fuji TV site". Fuji Television Network, Inc. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  4. "Cdjapan". Neowing. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  5. Woolfrey, Chris (18 February 2014). "A Quietus Interview | Music (For A Film): Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead interviewed". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  6. "Venezia 67". Venice Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  7. Adams, Mark (5 March 2011). "Beautiful Japanese romantic drama Norwegian Wood". Mirror.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  8. ""Norwegian Wood" Opens in US Theaters; Soundtrack Featuring Jonny Greenwood Score Available on Nonesuch Records". Nonesuch Records. 6 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  9. "Film Friday: Project X, Norwegian Wood, Dr. Seuss' the Lorax and more". Nowtoronto.com. 2 March 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  10. Sandhu, Sukhdev (10 March 2011). "Norwegian Wood, review". Telegraph Media Group Limited. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  11. Stephen Holden (5 January 2012). "'Norwegian Wood,' From Haruki Murakami Novel - Review - Young Love as Divine, but a Perilous Insanity". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  12. "Toronto International Film Festival Website". tiff.net. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  13. "Dubai International Film Festival Website". Dubai International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  14. "5th AFA Nominees by Film". asianfilmawards.asia. Archived from the original on 4 December 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  15. "Istanbul 2011". FIPRESCI. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
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