When a movie crew invades a small Japanese town, local lumberjack Katsuhiko (Kôji Yakusho) and young filmmaker Koichi (Shun Oguri) form an unlikely bond.
The film is very much a character piece and revolves around the two leads as they slowly learn about each other and themselves. The young learning from the old and vice vera is a story that has been told countless times in many genres and contexts. Here it is the strength of the two central performances combined with a lightness of touch that really elevates the material.
Oguri’s portrayal of the young writer/director, struggling to come to terms with his pressure and responsibility of being the ‘boss’ is at times a little too introverted. However the quiet awkwardness of his early scenes makes the pay off all the more satisfying as the director slowly finds his feet and takes control of his project.
Similarly Katsuhiko’s slow unraveling from grumpy old man to content, almost jovial father figure is played with masterful ease by Yakusho. This is most satisfying in the brief scenes the character shares with his son, as he learns from his relationship with Koichi and creates a closer bond with his own child of a similar age. It would have been easy for the filmmakers to lay this particular element on a bit thick, but in there three scenes together, Katsuhiko and his son communicate their changing relationship with the subtlety and nuance that runs through the rest of the film.
A coming of age story that is beautifully shot (I can image the Japanese tourist board are very pleased that this particular film seems to be traveling well) and superbly acted, The Woodsman And The Rain is a light hearted drama that is easily one of the most accessible foreign language films in recant memory,
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