‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’ Review: Murakami Anthology Nails the Essence of an Unfilmable Author – IndieWire
Haruki Murakami doesn’t write in any explicit style — the Japanese literary large is a style. Whereas his expansive bibliography has seen him dip his toe into all the pieces from magical realism and hardboiled mysteries to simple literary fiction and health commentary, his singular worldview ensures that each style he chooses to play with is bent to his will — by no means the opposite manner round.
At this level, the novelist’s emblems are recognized to anybody with even a passing curiosity in up to date literature. His tales unfold like steam rising off a lake, flowing in seemingly directionless patterns earlier than forming one thing indescribably lovely. His protagonists are sometimes ambitionless males who seem content material to let life occur to them. However as they get sucked into more and more surreal adventures, their passive tendencies and willingness to associate with issues rapidly make Murakami’s weird plots appear comparatively regular.
By seamlessly shifting his focus between the mundane particulars of on a regular basis life and the fantastical parts that he steadily introduces, he weaves delicate literary tapestries which can be equally miserable and life affirming.
However the stylistic selections that made Murakami a god amongst writers are the identical ones which have largely saved him out of Hollywood. As his novels gleefully break the traditional guidelines of storytelling, the one issues conserving the prepare from going off the tracks are his crisp sentences and devastating command of language. His tales are sometimes advised in first-person, permitting his exact phrasing to behave because the eyes and ears of his readers and protagonists on the similar time.
It’s laborious to think about his most well-known tales working in a world the place the person himself doesn’t have full management over each element — so classics like “Kafka on the Shore” and “The Wind-Up Chook Chronicle” have lengthy been deemed unfilmable by Murakami devotees. (Which isn’t to say that no person was prepared to strive — the writer is legendary for turning down nearly each movie pitch that comes his manner.) For the overwhelming majority of his 40-year profession, Murakami’s cinephile followers have needed to accept the pictures that he conjures together with his phrases.
There are some nice exceptions to this rule — like Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s triumphant “Drive My Automobile” — however these movies have been primarily based on a few of Murakami’s most standard, life like works. It’s a rarity to see a critical Murakami adaptation that tries to deliver his well-known magical realism to the large display.
Pierre Földes’ pleasant new animated anthology “Blind Willow, Weeping Lady” exhibits that even essentially the most Murakami-esque supply materials might be was cinema in the correct arms. The movie adapts a number of of the writer’s quick tales (from his assortment of the identical title), whereas additionally taking bits of fabric instantly from bigger works like “The Wind-Up Chook Chronicle.” The top result’s a movie that’s much less notable for the journeys of its characters than for its capability to bottle up Murakami’s artistic ethos. Anybody who’s unfamiliar together with his work may watch this film and go away with a fairly strong understanding of what all of the hype is about.
“Blind Willow, Sleeping Lady” takes place within the fallout of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake that devastated Japan, following an ensemble of center aged characters as they cope with the trauma in several methods. Kyoko (Shoshana Wilder) has entered a state of catatonic shock, spending 5 straight days and nights looking at cable information protection of the catastrophe. Her husband Komura (Ryan Bommarito) is understandably distressed by this, as his marriage is principally the one factor he has going for him. He’s completely content material to work a senseless job at an enormous financial institution earlier than coming dwelling to his spouse every night time, however he has no actual pursuits to talk of.
Kyoko decides to flee Tokyo in the midst of the night time, leaving her husband with nothing however a notice asking him to not contact her. Komura decides to take per week off of labor to course of the shock, solely to learn by his boss that his place is more likely to be eradicated quickly. With the coinciding losses of each his marriage and profession sending his life right into a tailspin, he agrees to spend his trip delivering a mysterious package deal on behalf of one in all his coworkers.
However he’s not the one financial institution worker who’s having a foul week. Katagiri (Marcello Arroyo) is a tragic 44-year-old debt collector who’s in scorching water over his lack of ability to gather on an enormous mortgage. After being knowledgeable that he’s more likely to be a goal within the upcoming spherical of layoffs, he will get dwelling and finds an enormous anthropomorphic frog sitting in his kitchen. The frog guarantees to unravel his skilled issues if Katagiri helps him fend off a large worm assault that’s apparently speculated to trigger one other lethal earthquake in just a few days. Missing every other choices, the banker agrees to place his religion within the amphibian.
The tales steadily intertwine in true Murakami vogue, including as much as a superbly incomplete portrait of standard individuals making an attempt to navigate transitional moments of their lives. Each the textual and visible parts of the movie show a superb understanding of Murakami’s model whereas nonetheless managing to introduce new cinematic parts to the tales.
The explicitly episodic nature of the script — with every of its seven chapters numerically labeled on display — goes a good distance in direction of capturing the sensation of studying a Murakami novel. And the inventive option to shift backwards and forwards between so many plot strains helps recreate the “absurd shit can occur, however nothing truly issues” vibe that his readers will know so effectively. Solely in a Murakami story would a monster-induced earthquake that threatened to stage Tokyo to rubble be waved off with all the inconvenience of rescheduling a docs appointment.
Földes’ animation model is an equally good match for the supply materials. The movie unfolds like an image guide for adults, including an harmless high quality to the tales of unhappy debt collectors and attractive couriers. And whereas all the pieces is drawn competently sufficient to advance the story, nothing is ever lovely sufficient to benefit the “I may hold that body on my wall” reactions that nice animated movies typically induce. That’s all to the movie’s profit, because it emphasizes the notion that each one of those sacred issues are taking place in an completely mundane world.
One would hope that any Murakami novices who benefit from the movie use it as a leaping off level to a few of his greater novels. Whereas the tales that made the movie are fairly charming, it finally lacks the narrative heft of his greatest works. Nonetheless, Földes’ film succeeds as each a tribute to a dwelling legend and a reminder that nothing is ever fairly as unfilmable because it appears. “Blind Willow, Sleeping Lady” is much from the definitive Murakami film. However for now, it’s among the finest ones we’ve received.
Grade: B+
Zeitgeist Movies and Kino Lorber will launch “Blind Willow, Sleeping Lady” in New York Metropolis, Los Angeles, and different choose American markets on Friday, April 14.
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