COLD BLOOM / BEHEATH ROWS OF BLOSSOMING CHERRY TREES [Lit.] (SAKURA NAMIKI NO MANKAI NO SHITA NI). Viewed on Streaming. Subtitles = eight (8) stars; lighting = six (6) stars; cinematography = five (5) stars. Director Atsushi Funahashi (who is credited also as script co-writer) provides a taut and well-crafted story of a women who travels from blissful happiness to unadulterated hatred to ultimate forgiveness to, well, be determined. It's quite a ride! The Director's small metal-stamping factory drama or "kouba-geki" (which could be classified as a subcategory of "shomin-geki" or home-drama film genre) begins with the abrupt end of a recent marriage (between shop workers) when the husband is killed (on the job) due to the reckless action of a co-worker, continues on with the grieving wife having to work side-by-side with her husband's totally remorseful "terminator" (other jobs seem unavailable in this economically-depressed region), and ends up (a year or two later) with the widow falling in love with the hapless fellow (and vice versa) who has by now given up on her and decided to move on. Funahashi trots out Sakura (yet again) to mark the passage of time, although he ends his tale in a refreshingly open-ended and unsettled manner. This is a film that shows something rarely seen in modern movies: domestic blue-collar factory workers. At first glance, lead actress Asami Usuda seems miscast as an enhanced-lips glamorous wife/widow holding down a blue-collar job (inappropriate makeup and lighting often don't help matters). But it soon becomes apparent that Usuda is an especially talented performer who has created a psychological deep-dive portrait of a woman who is confronted with drastically contrasting feelings and ultimately manages to resolve them. It's a fascinating performance! Cinematography (2.35 : 1, color) captures the sinister nature of the ocean (even on clear days) and smooth moving shots on highways. Most/all hand-held shots, however, jump and weave about causing scene depreciation. Lighting is generally good except for a few under lit interior shots and loss of facial details when performers are shot using the sky as background. Subtitles are just about right. Highly recommended. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.
Review of Cold Bloom
