Rent Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001)

Funny, wise and absorbing! - Warm Water Under a Red Bridge review by TE

Don't read the other review on here before you watch this film as it contains a huge spoiler.

The hilarious conceit at the heart of this superb movie comes quite early on. It's like a contemporary fairy tale, with roots in bawdy folklore.

A lively energy and good humour keeps the narrative ticking along amidst an engaging mixture of surrealism and naturalism.

Apparently the dialogue is full of double meanings in the original Japanese, something that is only occasionally reflected in the subtitles.

Another Imamura triumph!

Dissapointing. - Warm Water Under a Red Bridge review by CP Customer

Not having any luck finding a job in Tokyo, an unemployed salesman named Yosuke promises an old, dying friend that he will claim a hidden treasure for him; a golden statue of Buddha. Yosuke travels to a small seaside town and finds a house where the statue is supposedly hidden. Before he goes inside, he notices a young woman hurrying from a house by a red bridge. Following her to a nearby market he watches her stealing some cheese while she stands in a puddle of water. When the two eventually meet, he learns of her secret affliction, that she is constantly filling with water, and the only way to release the water is through sex. Soon, Yosuke abandons his treasure hunt, finds a job as a fisherman and sees more and more of the young woman. Overall, though it's an intriguing story, ultimately this film is confusing. Maybe it's the difference in cultures but half the time I didn't know if I was watching a comedy or a drama. The story starts with quite a sombre feeling, Yosuke's state of unemployment, his wife who constantly nags and demeans him, and a death of a friend. But it soon turns into a something that resembles a bad 70's soft porn film, and as the curious story goes on it becomes less and less interesting.