Vision (2018 film)

Vision is a 2018 drama film directed by Naomi Kawase from her own script. It stars Juliette Binoche and Masatoshi Nagase, with Takanori Iwata, Minami, Mirai Moriyama in supporting roles.The film tells the story of a French woman who goes to look for vision, the plant she hears legends about, in an ancient forest of Japan. There she meets Tomo, and starts a story with him that crosses cultures and languages.[1][2][3]

Vision
Film poster
Directed byNaomi Kawase
Written byNaomi Kawase
Produced by
  • Satoshi Miyazaki
  • Marianne Slot
  • Kumie
Starring
CinematographyArata Dodo
Edited byFrancois Gedigier, Yoichi Shibuya
Music byMakoto Ozone
Production
companies
Release date
  • 8 June 2018 (2018-06-08)
Running time
109 minutes
CountriesJapan
France
LanguagesEnglish
Japanese
French

After a Japanese release on June 8, 2018,[4] Vision made its North American debut at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and its European debut at the San Sebastiàn Film Festival.[5][2][6]

Plot

Jeanne is a French essayist who writes travelogues while traveling around the world. She visits Yoshino, Nara Prefecture, with her assistant Hana to do some research for her essay. Jeanne is determined to find a mythical herb known as "vision", as she has heard the legend that it can alleviate human pain when it scatters its spores every 997 years. She meets Tomo, a mountain guardian who lives in a mountainous area covered in cedar trees, as she arrives at the ancient forest, and the two gradually transcend cultural barriers and develop a rapport during the search for the herb. She also gets to know Rin, a mountain guardian like Tomo, Aki, the older, blind forest denizen, Gaku, a hunter, and Gen; they all live in the mountains, and the mountain protect them. Their fates intersect in unexpected ways.[2][7][8]

Cast

Production

The film started shooting in September 2017 and was shot for two and a half weeks in September before it resumed shooting in November. The film was tailored to suit Binoche's schedule. When it transpired that she would be available during September and November, Kawase opted to write a story that was split into two halves. The feature is set in Kawase's native Nara Prefecture as many of her films are, with the local Yoshino Mountains and forests figuring prominently in the film. The film's location, deep in the mountains of the director's native Nara, was chosen partly to satisfy the actress's eagerness to see rural Japan.

Kawase and Binoche first met at an official dinner at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017, and Kawase recalled that "the moment I met her, I knew I wanted to work with her." The project of the two working together was accelerated by Paris-based production company founder Marianne Slot, who was seated next to Kawase at a dinner at 2017's Cannes Festival, and their discussion led to a decision in June for Slot Machine and Kawase's production house Kumie Inc. to collaborate on a film, with Slot bringing in Binoche to star. Wild Bunch handled international sales and Haut et Court pre-bought French rights.[9][10][11]

Release

The film opened in Japan on June 8, 2018,[4] and then made its North American debut at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and its European debut at the San Sebastiàn Film Festival.[5][2][6] It was released on November 28 in France, 2018,on December 28, 2018 in Spain, and on February 14, 2019 in Germany.[12]

Marketing

Vision was announced on September 7, 2017, revealing that Juliette Binoche would co-star with Masatoshi Nagase in this new project of Naomi Kawase.[9][13] On January 18, 2018, it was announced that Takanori Iwata, Mari Natsuki, Minami, Mirai Moriyama, and Min Tanaka would appear in the film and that the film had finished shooting in early December.[14] On April 26, a special press conference was held in Hotel Gajoen Tokyo, with director Naomi Kawase and Masatoshi Nagase, Takanori Iwata, Mari Natsuki, Minami attending.[15][16] The poster and the first trailer of the film were released on the same day, while it was also announced that the film would be released on June 8.[17] The second trailer was released on May 17.[18] On May 25, it was announced that Juliette Binoche would come to Japan for the release of the film.[19] On June 9, Juliette Binoche, Masatoshi Nagase, Takanori Iwata, Mari Natsuki, Minami, and director Naomi Kawase attended a special greeting event at Shinjuku Piccadilly Cinema in Tokyo.[20]

A preview screening was held at Cinémathèque française in Paris on July 18, 2018, with Naomi Kawase, Juliette Binoche, and Taro Kono, the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs at the time, attending. It was the first screening of the film outside of Japan.[21]

Reception

Vision has an approval rating of 42% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews, and an average rating of 5.9/10.[22]

Variety Critic Guy Lodge described the film as "a mixed hessian bag of Kawase's best and worst creative impulses", and stated that "still buoyed by Binoche's ever-disarming presence, it should be her most widely distributed work to date."[1] Meanwhile, Cinema Scope critic Michael Sicinski was disappointed with the film, writing that "despite the presence of an international superstar (Juliette Binoche) for the first time in Naomi Kawase's filmography, Vision will not convert anyone to the Kawase cause."[23] Hollywood Reporter critic Leslie Felperin gave also wrote that the film did not work for her, and called the film "the soporific pace and twee quasi-environmentalist, semi-mystical guff about life cycles and dreams foretold will annoy some viewers."[2]

References
  1. Lodge, Guy (27 September 2018). "Film Review: 'Vision'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  2. "'Vision': Film Review | TIFF 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  3. "Vision 特集: 世界が認めた「あん」「光」河瀬直美監督10作目は《究極の到達点》幾多の謎、深遠な主題、映像美──実力派俳優陣と放つ"メッセージ"とは？"理解"は十人十色、いま映画ファンに委ねられた壮大な結末の"解釈"". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  4. "Vision : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  5. "Vision - Juliette Binoche". The Art of Being. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  6. Frankl, Ed (2018-09-30). "San Sebastian Review: Naomi Kawase Transplants Juliette Binoche in the Sensual, Loopy 'Vision'". The Film Stage. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  7. "河瀨直美による映画『Vision』ジュリエット・ビノシュ＆永瀬正敏が主演". www.fashion-press.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  8. Connell, Katherine (2018-10-02). "Naomi Kawase's 'Vision': Poetic Worlds and Vegetal Camerawork". Another Gaze: A Feminist Film Journal. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  9. Goodfellow2017-09-07T11:00:00+01:00, Melanie. "Juliette Binoche to star in Naomi Kawase's 'Vision' (exclusive)". Screen. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  10. Schilling, Mark (2017-09-09). "Japan's Naomi Kawase Shooting Juliette Binoche in 'Vision'". Variety. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  11. Hadfield, James (2018-06-13). "Juliette Binoche gets to see the 'real' Japan in 'Vision'". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  12. "Vision". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  13. "ジュリエット・ビノシュ×永瀬正敏がW主演 河瀬直美の新作『Vision』". CINRA.NET (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  14. Inc, Natasha. "河瀬直美「Vision」に岩田剛典、美波、森山未來、田中泯、夏木マリが出演（コメントあり）". 映画ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. "岩田剛典、河瀬組初参加でメンバーから心配される…「本当に森の人になっている」". cinemacafe.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  16. Inc, Natasha. "「Vision」河瀬直美と永瀬正敏、岩田剛典の伐採技術を絶賛「山守になったら？」（写真34枚）". 映画ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. "永瀬、岩田、ビノシュが神秘の森で出会う…河瀬直美「Vision」ポスター＆予告 : 映画ニュース". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  18. "J・ビノシュ＆岩田剛典が涙、永瀬正敏が微笑 河瀬直美『Vision』新予告編". CINRA.NET (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  19. "オスカー女優ジュリエット・ビノシュ、緊急来日決定！「Vision」で河瀬直美監督と初タッグ : 映画ニュース". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  20. "J・ビノシュ「Vision」公開祝し登壇！河瀬直美監督は「万引き家族」PR : 映画ニュース". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  21. "河野外務大臣の河瀨直美監督「Vision」上映会への出席". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  22. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/vision_2018<
  23. "Cinema Scope | Vision (Naomi Kawase, Japan/France) — Special Presentations". cinema-scope.com. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
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