The Japanese Wife Movie Reviews

The best movie I have ever seen.

The story of a indian man and japanese women long distance relationship. Their deep love for each other made me cry.

Must watch.

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Aparna Sen's The Japanese Wife, based on the short story of the same name by Kunal Basu, is poetry on celluloid. The innocent love story of the Mathematics teacher Snehamoy, living in rural Sundarban and the Japanese girl Miyagi, living in Yokohama, is sure to touch a chord. Sen has managed the subject with lot of sensitivity and nurtured her characters very well.

Rahul Bose breaks his typecast of the metrosexual guy, and plays Snehamoy to perfection. He really seems to suit the role. Raima Sen as Sandhya, the widow, looks beautiful even in a deglamorised role. The veteran Moushumi Chatterjee is brilliant as Snehamoy's Pishima. The Japanese actress Chigusa Takaku is sweet and adorable. The child actor playing Paltu, Sandhya's son, is so natural and lovable.

Snehamoy and Miyagi are pen friends. Through passing years, these two fall in love with each other. They even get married through letters. It's really fascinating to see how innocent these two people are. Remaining completely committed, even though they never saw each other. They just spoke once or twice by telephone.

The cinematography is fantastic, creating many a moments which are a visual feast. Be it rain in the village, or the river Matla, or glimpses of Japan, the images created on the screen leaves you fascinated at times. The Kite flying scene in the movie is one to watch out for. Poetry on celluloid really! The background score is apt, and fills your heart with a tinge of happiness.

Aparna Sen is more known for her urban themed movies. This is definitely out of her comfort zone. But she has handled the movie maturely. Sign of a master director. The film just suffers from lack of pace at times. However, when you come out of the theatre you will be surely touched by the characters created by Sen, and the wonderful story surrounding them.

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I personally hated the book but am now forever in love with its visual and big-screen cousin.How many of you have read poetry, or looked at a painting, or read a visually-delightful book, and been delighted? If any of these forms of art have ever impressed you, the movie The Japanese Wife, based on the book of the same name by Kunal Basu and brought alive on screen by the legendary and unparalleled Aparna Sen is just for you.If you have ever seen an Aparna Sen masterpiece before, well, set your expectations high. Because, as always, she will surpass even the highest expectations you may have set.

The movie is based on two landscapes, one, the mysterious and enchanting world of the Sunderbans in the West Bengal, and the other, in the land of ‘sayonaras’, Japan.If by now you are done with bikini babes and six-eight-pack middle-aged heroes taking their shirts off, aunties trying to play young, babes going down to size zero and vanishing in thin air, non-existent writers in the typical ‘desi’ movies, if by any chance you are interested in sampling a visually satiating fare, a detailed eye for cinematography and a camera that captures each and every miniscule portion of the frame, then you should like this one.

Cast: Rahul Bose (Snehomoy Chatterjee) Chigusa Takaku (Miyegi) Moushumi Chatterjee Raima Sen (Sandhya) Special (1second) appearance: Kunal Basu

Director: Aparna Sen Cinematographer: Anay Goswami Genre: Drama

Plot: The story is based between the two central protagonists – Snehomoy (a maths teacher in a village school in Sunderban) and Miyegi (a poor Japanese girl who tends to her ailing mother and runs a shop from inside her home). The two become pen-friends and eventually end up marrying each other, through the exchange of letters. For the 17 years they remain married and loyal to each other, they never meet, and as destiny has in store, shall never meet. Snehomoy lives with his old aunt, played by the adorable Moushumi Chatterjee. Her Baangla is thick with the local dialect accent and her portrayal of an old village woman is one of the best performances she has done till date. The detailing of a typical Aparna Sen movie can be seen in the way the camera familiarizes us with Snehomoy’s house and room. Starting from the mosquito-net to the books and the table covers, we are given a glimpse of it all, thus revealing little-by-little of the character and what his life is like.

Miyegi lives in a typical Japanese house, complete with a wooden floor and a slanting roof. The director remains rooted in the fact that though not a single shot of Japan is shown apart from Miyegi’s home and the courtyard and little plants outside, the viewer can easily feel transported into a different world. Especially at those scenes when Miyegi is in her brother’s house and stands in the kitchen near the sink, and we see a slice of the life in Japan from the window that looks out into world outside. Snehomoy and Miyegi are both lonely, shy and introvert and that is what draws them to each other in the first place. Both of them are incapable of making many friends in their regular world, and the ‘anonymity’ of a pen-friendship helps them open up to each other, which eventually leads to their decision of getting married.

As the minutes pass we see more of Japan in Snehomoy’s room. There is a Japanese fan, Japanese dolls, table covers, hand-fans, decorative items, kites and more. When his aunt’s friend and her daughter (Raima Sen) visit their house, Moushumi Chatterjee voices her desire to get the two married, but Snehomoy is already committed to Miyegi. The marriage takes place by Snehomoy sending her a pair of traditional Bengali shaakha-pola and a vial of shindoor. When Miyegi is ill he even goes to the local doctor with all her reports and sends her herbal and ayurvedic medicines, which she dutifully takes. Both the protagonists are not comfortable in English and have to labour over the long-distance calls as they try and convey their love and feelings to each other. The scene where Snehomoy is shown physically satisfying himself in a moored boat is shot aesthetically. Raima Sen appears again, as a young widow with a young son, who is given shelter in the house by Snehomoy’s aunt. Through her limited looks from under her veil, she slowly and gradually develops a liking for this man, a liking that we can all recognize as love. Snehomoy’s bond with her young eight-year-old son portrays warmth and genuine affection.

The last scene sees the two women in Snehomoy’s life, Miyegi and Sandhya, turn to each other for love and solace in their moment of loss. Rahul Sen’s best. His typical baangla accent along with the adulterated English, baang-lish is sup erb.Chigusa is extremely sweet and soft-spoken throughout the movie and the viewer can actually feel a kind of tenderness towards this girl-woman.Moushumi Chatterjee is at her best. Raima Sen acts mostly with her eyes and does a great job, wonder why she even bothers to do regular Bollywood movies. The boy who plays Raima’s son deserves a special mention here. Though I am not aware of his name, he has a done a great job at this age and it is hard to even imagine that he is acting here, it looks so natural.

Caution: If you want the regular fast-paced movie, with a young feel and lots of colour and glamour and song-and-dance sequences, this is not the movie for you. It is to be watched with patience and at leisure.

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I have been skeptical of seeing books turned into films. I feel that they loose their fine nuances in translation. And I would have continued being so if “The Japanese Wife”wouldn’t have happened to me.

“The Japanese Wife” is based on the short story by veteran writer Kunal Basu with the same name. The story is about two simple introvert people, a man in India and a girl in Japan who connect together as pen pals and slowly grows into each other to an extent that they start living like a married individuals and how they pass through life with faith and letters without meeting each other for seventeen years.”

If this comes across to you as incomplete plot, I must tell you its not. There is nothing more to this simple story. And if this doesn’t excite you don’t be worried, as it’s not a regular Masala Flick which we watch sitting on the edge of our seats. Rather it’s a film which is no less than a piece of art which you would want to sit back and savor.

‘The Japanese Wife’(TJW) is Aparna Sen's 8rth directorial venture and it’s one among her finest work and does complete justice to the Kunals Story. Normally in an attempt to make the film more visually appealing the biggest mistake most of the director do is to fiddle around with the storyline or add in unnecessarily Masala, which is not the case with ‘TJW’. It is authenticaly served and garnished with flawless direction by Aparna.

You can buy the story only because of the characters and the actors who played it. Whether its senior actress Maushami Chaterjee in the role of Maasi or new generation actors like Rahul Bose(Playing Snehamoy) and Raima Sen(Playing Sandhya), each one of them convince you tremendously and credit goes to Aparna for the amount of work she did with each one of them.Rahul Bose has always been a surprise (read pleasantly) for the audience, but for Japanese Wife he sets in a phenomena which would be a difficult bet to follow in future cinematic perfromances by him. Raima has always been a better and safer bet than her sister Riya sen. Her silences are well formed and meaningful. Not to forget the Child Artist who plays “Poltu” in the films and bowls you with his innocent performance. Chigusa Takaku who plays the Japanese wife Miyagi, did not have much to offer except her voice throughout the film but wherever she appeared she ensures to tug your heartstrings.

Few scene which makes your heart skip a beat are: Snehamoy speaking over the phone with Miyagi; Kite competition; Sandhya and Snehamoy trip to the market; Snehamoy attempt to cure Miyagi by consulting all possible doctors. And the last scene of Miyagi coming to meet Snehamoy.

'The Japanese Wife’ gives you a feeling of walking in an art gallery, its lyrical in nature and apart from Aparna the other artists who has contribute to this form of art are, Cinematographer Anay Goswami,framing and camera movements in a rhythmic manner and the Art director Gautam Basu's utilisation of the of colors are worth an applause.Music by Sagar Desai never overpowers the story and that’s the best part about it. The whose music has a Japanese theme but the way it blends with Bengali music that it is difficult to segregate.

To sum up I would say that Aparna succeeds in providing a brilliant cinematic experience to audience, devoid of quality cinema since ages. She proves that a film doesn't always need a dramatic plot points to survive and gone are the days when Film meant a Actor solving his/her problem and audience clapping loud by the end. She reminds you of legendary Mr. Ray movies which mostly dealt with unspoken bond and relationships. It’s a lesson to all the directors who adapt books into screenplay and mess it up completely. Aparna has proved yet again that“Filmmakers are Artists, not just Craftsmen”

P.S: A must watch to enhance your taste buds for good and new cinema and to get over the stale phrase "drama nahi tha"

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A part of you has grown in me.
And so you see, it's you and me
Together forever and never apart,
Maybe in distance, but never in heart

• Anonymous

The purest form of love is when it ceases to be ambiguous and amorphous.Aparna Sen's latest film - The Japanese wife explores the myriad facets of a surreal love story of two people that transcends all geographical boundaries. A love that is timeless, a marriage that is true to its vows, a commitment that holds true till the final breath. The film spans over a decade portraying how a mere friendship metamorphoses into love and marriage, thereby bounding two people with the invisible promise of love so delicate, that is prone to break with the slightest misbehavior from either end, yet so strong that it grows firm with each passing year and each letter exchange, 637 being the final count.

The plot:

The film starts with 40+ Snehamoy a village school master in Sundarban, walking down the memory lane with the impressions of the moments shared with his Japanese wife, he has never met.The scene oscillates back and forth between the thoughts of Snehamoy and a huge box embossed with colorful pictures arriving first on a small boat, then in a van with small village kids running after it and finally to his house, as a present form his wife on the occasion of their 15th marriage anniversary.The waves of emotion of a husband waiting for every small bit of communication from his wife living faraway, is well captured in Rahul Bose's awed expressions as he unwraps the gift.Miyagi had sent him colorful kites that once belonged to her father. In a relationship so unique, everything unconventional is the conventional thing.

The film then moves to the flashback scenes of how the hauntingly beautiful love story evolved.Snehamoy was an orphan who was brought up by his widowed aunt(Mousumi Chatterjee).While Miyagi was a shy and reticent young Japanese girl with an ailing mother and a brother who lived away from home. They came to know each other as pen friends. Both being lonely in their own world, it didn't take much time for them to open up with each other through writing letters. The only problem being, none of them were conversant with the only common language they knew - English. Still they understood each other completely in whatever little English they knew.

Friendship soon blossomed into love and Miyagi took the initiative of expressing her feelings by offering herself as Snehamoy's bride. Snehamoy speculates about all the hardship his bride would be required to endure in the situation of a marriage, like using the single Indian style loo. Miyagi replies in good humor ‘why you men are so stupid, the important thing is we are getting married’. Finally they unite with the bond of marriage - Miyagi sends Snehamoy a silver ring with her name embossed in it and Snehamoy sends her back the traditional conch bangles and vermilion.He tells Miyagi that she should always wear the bangles and apply the vermilion till he is alive. Miyagi as a devoted wife follows Snehamoy's instructions verbatim.During the second year of their marriage, a young girl, the daughter of Snehamoy's aunt's friend comes to their home. His aunt expresses her desire to get them married, when finally Snehamoy breaks the news of his secret letter-marriage. The initial shock is wiped away with a bigger shock when his aunt learns about his Japanese wife.Years pass and gradually everyone, including the villagers have come to accept the fact that the school master is married to a japanese lady who lives faraway. His aunt had become very affectionate about her daughter-in-law, who sends handmade socks and chemis to her in-laws as gifts all the time.

Snehamoy is truthful while narrating each and every thing that happens in his life. So when the aunt's god-daughter, Sandhya comes back after 15 years as a widow with a son and starts staying in their house, Snehamoy never hides the emotional turmoil he happens to undergo due to her presence. The story form here moves around the emotional sinewave surrounding Miyagi, Snehamoy and Sandhya. The mental proximity with Miyagi and physical presence of the young Sandhya in Snehamoy's life is beautifully captured.Life goes on like it was, and one day Snehamoy learns about Miyagi's ailment. From here the story takes a new turn and finally builds up the climax.

Cast and crew:

The main lead, Miyagi is brilliantly played by Chigusa Takaku. Her voice is so expressive that the entire voice over had come to life with her intonations. Happiness, agony, anguish, concern, she emoted each and every emotions with unequaled excellence. Her innocence  makes you smile when she sends a camera to her husband while apologizing for the fact that she couldn't manage to get a camera with a Bengali manual in japan. You would feel akin to whatever she undergoes. You will feel her anticipation when she proposes to Snehamoy, (whom she calls as'Sonomoy' due to her limitations in the language), the jealousy when she knows about other women approaching her husband, the agony of her ailment while being concerned about her husband worrying for her, the undying love for the only man in her life when he manages to call her and finally the overpowering sadness that she feels when she walks into the room of Snehamoy after his demise, running her finger over all her gifts that her husband had preserved all through these years. Even in the calmness of her face, you will feel the the turbulence of a wife who has lost her only love.Her devotion for her husband is unmatched when you see her wearing the conch bangles even after her husband's demise, as Snehomoy had not informed her that they should be removed as well with the husband's death.

Mousumi Chatterjee as Snehamoy’s caring yet strict aunt is the most lovable character of the movie. She loaths a Japanese daughter in law at first but soon grows quite fond of her "bouma". She understands Snehamoy's love for his wife but at the same time is concerned about his real needs of a companion. Her love for Snehamoy compasses all other things. Mousumi Chatterjee has excelled herself in the film, no doubt one of her best performances till date. She is funny and charming at the same time and her expressions and humorous quips comes as a much desired comic relief in the otherwise serious theme

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Accompanied by my friend I reached Nandan at 16.00 pm, to watch the opening show of "The Japanese Wife".After around 110 minutes, when the credits started rolling, a large part of the audience gave  a standing ovation.A rare vintage of emotions and feelings described through simplicity and sensitiveness.The film glorifies unconditional and pure love which defies the barrier of language and religion.The absolute brilliance and tenderness with which the characters are sketched on screen makes them more special and easier for us to relate. Snehamoy(Rahul Bose)and his Japanese Wife(Chigusa Takaku) were pen friends.Their only form of interaction were the letters that they exchanged, their feelings being composed of broken English words, a language alien to both of them.

Emotions reverberated and their proposal to marry each other also came through a poetry of words. In spite of being unsure of the fact, whether they could meet each other once in a lifetime, they agree upon to be a married couple.Even after seventeen years of marriage they could not meet each other.Dreams and hopes of Snehamoy floated along the river Matla, like a sailing boat. May be someday they would meet.Some fantastic camerawork, brings out the best of the scenic wanderlust beauty of rural Bengal and parts of Japan. Moushumi Chatterjee enacting on screen, Snehamoy's widow aunt is exceptional.She was responsible for the upbringing of Snehamoy. Since he lost his parents at an early age, she too has her own expectations about Snehamoy but never really tried to impose something onto him, allowing him to lead an independent life of his own.The physical absence of Miyagi was never felt on the village where Snehamoy lived. Since she was always the talk of the town.Each person in the village has an idea about the teacher's Japanese wife.In a way, the Japanese wife pervaded all throughout the village.Sandhya(Raima Sen), a young widow, who had no other acquaintances than her only son Paltu.Snehamoy's aunt decided to keep Sandhya with them, since she considered herself as Sandhya's Godmother.Raima Sen as Sandhya is again worth watching, she emotes mostly through her eyes, her silent glances speak volumes.

And how can the review be complete without Mr.Rahul Bose's portrayal of Senamoy(his wife called him by the name).He is a complete performer.If I was a storywriter, I would be supremely confident that he can act any character to life.I always believed, this man is versatile, but its the subtleness of his emotions, echoed through the narratives that he speaks, makes his character more special.Its a wonderful journey deep within, how far can a person reach for the quest of his love.Well done.There are numerous moments which remains captivated long even after you have left the theatre.The hand-knitten socks of Snehamoy, dried Japanese flowers, the lamp-lit face of Sandhya and Miyagi wearing a Sari.On the flip side, the kite fighting sequence could have been a little short, though performances of Kharaj Mukherjee and Fatik(Rudranil) has been a top notch.In the era of i-phones and playstations ". The Japanese Wife" is a welcome break to all the audience who love to feel the most special feeling on earth that makes life so beautiful-the power of love.

I suggest a must go to everyone who love films that tells you a story with a touch of heart.Take a bow Mrs.Sen.You deserve every bit of accolades and acknowledgement.

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