Warm Water Under the Red bridge is a surreal romance. Beautifully shot, original in style, great acting, basically a top notch movie directed by Shohei Imamura. Shohei Imamura also directed such fine films as ... who am I kidding? I don't have the slightest idea what else he directed, but the name sounds familiar. I'll look it up before the end of this review. Just for you.

A man (Koji Yakusho) travels to a small town and meets a woman (Misa Shimizu) with whom he begins an affair. He takes up fishing. They do romantic things in the charming little village, like, together, you know? Oh, uh, when the woman has an orgasm, such a torrent of water escapes from her, uh ... from her ... such a torrent of water escapes from her that the flow runs out the house and all the way down to the water under, you guessed it, a red bridge. I suppose that is why the water is warm. Now, I have to admit that it sounds a little bizarre. Now before you turn away in disgust, or alternatively run out immediately to buy it, I have to tell you that this is a really sweet film. It has an element of magic to it. Think of the movie Chocolate. It has a kind of similar whimsical air, not to mention poetic liscence. This would be a great date movie, I think.

What's the deal with the water issue (pun intended), and what effect does this warm water have on the fish and ecosystem of the village? I'm not sure the movie answers those questions. This movie has its own logic, and it's not hard to get drawn into its charm.

Here it is: Shohei Imamura also directed The Eel (also starring Koji Yakusho and Misa Shimizu, hmmm), and Vengeance is Mine and some other stuff.

DO NOT BUY THIS FILM IF: You want what this film does NOT provide, ie., sordid sex, perversity, gore, zombies, UFO's, Yakuza wars, muppets, the continuing saga of the Hobbits after Frodo left, reality, or hidden codes foretelling the future.

RECOMMENDATION: I recommend this film to everyone. Though not explicit, your five year old may not quite be old enough to be perplexed by the water-orgasm thing, but other than that, it's pretty tame (for adults) yet charming, beautiful stuff. Recommended.

It took this long for them to take up a film by the veteran Japanese director, Shohei Imamura, and it's certainly a teaser for the rest of his films. This engaging fantasy sees Koji Yakusho as Yosuke Sasano, coming to terms with redundancy and the death of a sage-like friend, the elderly Taro (Kazuo Kitamura). The old man had already proposed that Yosuke resolve the rut he is in by visiting an old haunt of his and recover a misappropriated golden Buddha statue. It can be found in a house by a red bridge where the river meets the sea, the one with the trumpet flowers. "I didn't hide it," Ysuke recalls him saying, "I just forgot to take it with me." He locates the house and finds it occupied by two women, the elderly and senile Mitsu (Mitsuko Baisho) and the young Saeko (Misa Shimizu). He first realises that there is something odd to Saeko when he sees her shoplifting, a curious pool of water forming around her feet. Saeko, it turns out, periodically wells up, quite literally, when she's turned on. And so is the tap, the warm water gushing out, a bit of a shock when the spray hits Yosuke the first time without warning. A squirter? Heck, she can multi-task and clean the windows while she's at it. Her waters escape the house and run into the river enervating those waters, the fish jumping, her sexual fruition as much the confluence that feeds the natural world as is the converging of the river and the sea. The reason to fish the spot suddenly becomes richer. As a menstrual metaphor it's slightly confused.

Problematically, Yosuke is a family man, the marriage beginning to fail since the loss of his job, and Tokyo is a long way from here. He is given work, initially for three weeks, with a trawling crew and rents rooms in a guest house, putting himself on call for when her well is overflowing, signalling for him by hand-mirror and sun. For him the water is an extra kinky appeal but for Saeko it is not a pleasure, it is a curse, and he is only the latest man to try and cure her, to abate its effect. "When I well up I have to do something wicked," she states in answer to her shoplifting expeditions. She further quips that "If you weren't a good man I'd stab you to death," just before some sneaky facts roll in to add viewer concern for our hero. Rumours fly that she has driven men to their death before now, that she is a monster and that her mother was a pagan priestess who followed her Konsei relics into the waters and drowned in them. The real dangers come in from elsewhere. Though with Imamura taking everything with such a leisurely approach the threat is rarely considered.

It is a delightfully realised film, a blessing of amazing images, like a lifetime has been pooled over each image. The camerawork is smooth, contributing greatly to the leisurely feel, even when it is following people sprinting or the trawler boat returning from a haul besieged by seagulls. The music adds to the magic considerably, from the liltingly light flute to the warped psychedelic synthesizer that accompanies the colourful dreams that haunt Yosuke. There is even that rarity the perfect conclusion, a final image that is unexpected, funny and reasonable.

Imamura was 74 when he took this on with nothing more to prove, hence the meditative pace. He'd received his second Palm D'Or three years earlier for The Eel and has been making films for over 40 years. If Warm Water Under A Red Bridge is so freely available now it can only have helped that Imamura had that recent Cannes notice while his star, Koji Yakusho (a carry over from The Eel) was coming back to him with the unprecedented US box-office success for a foreign language film that was Shall We Dance. Supporting information is minimal on the DVD, and though the film is the important thing, too many poor films have the support material when we don't want or need it, whereas there are many remarkable people making wonderful movies and information on them is not easily forthcoming. Warm Water Under A Red Bridge is an odd but endearing brew, gentle despite its occasional unembarrassed crudity. See it for the likeable Yakusho, see it for the lovely Shimizu, see it for the great supporting character cast and see it for the immaculate cinematography. Just see it...

Yosuke Sasano (Koji Yakusho) is an out of work salesman who’s wife, Tomoko (Toshie Negishi), is constantly at his heels for him to find a new job, or at least a massive influx of money, for her and their son. An old, homeless man named Taro (Kazuo Kitamura), who had been a mentor to Yosuke, is discovered dead at the films opening. After a conversation where his wife bosses him around about finding a new job and then not receiving the position after a job interview, Yosuke stares out onto a river and recalls an old conversation that he had with Taro at that location. Taro had told Yosuke about a treasure Taro put in a pot in a small, remote town. He describes the place where he left the treasure: a house with spectacular views next to a red bridge. It’s not long before our protagonist is on board of a train and riding off to this town. Upon his arrival, he encounters many strange and quirky people who eventually direct him to the house he’s looking for. Before he gets there, a woman, Saeko Aizawa (Misa Shimizu), leaves the house and walks past him. Later he spots her at the grocery store where she mysteriously steals cheese and water drips from between her legs into a big puddle. On her way out one of her earings falls off and Yosuke runs after her, trying to return it. She doesn’t notice him, however, and drives off before he can stop her, so he walks all the way to her home. When he gets there, no one answers the door, so he goes inside. After a few minutes of looking around, a strange old lady (Saeko’s grandmother, Mitsu (Mitsuko Baisho)) comes up to him. Soon Misa comes down the stairs and, after accepting her earing back, she takes Yosuke up stairs with her. They shoot a few awkward phrases back and forth, then Saeko jumps Yosuke and they have sex. Soon water is shooting out of her nether regions, soaking everything around. This water flows outside and into the water. Where her water is in the river, fish gather; above it, birds gather. Yosuke is understandably confused by all of this, and she explains how water builds up inside of her and when it does, she has to do something immoral (usually stealing). Their relationship grows thanks to Yosuke finding a job as a fisherman. Later in the film, Yosuke’s set, normal life collapses independent of his actions with Saeko. Her relationship with Yosuke, likewise, is put to the test in the film’s final chapter. Throughout, characters brood over sexuality, human rights, relationships, and the water that flows from Saeko.

Shohei Imamura is widely regarded as the most talented and influential Japanese director alive today. His films, ranging from the classic “Vengeance is Mine” to representing Japan in the new multinational compilation “11’9”01 – September 11”, his films are unique, surreal creations that amaze all who come across them. Though “Warm Water Under the Red Bridge” is unquestionably not his best film, his graceful hand, vision, and message are present throughout. The ability of sexuality and love to bring vigor and joy into a person’s life, and their necessity to life itself, have been themes in almost all of his films. Some viewers liken “Warm Water” ’s Taro to being his counterpart. Visually, this film is among his best. There is a golden feel to much of the film – it’s like watching a moving piece of art. From gorgeous manipulations of natural colors and light within captivatingly framed, smoothly moving shots to a frescoed dream sequence where Yosuke appears curled up as a fetus floating inside a ball of light, you won’t want to let your eyes leave the screen. The visuals will be one of the first things to grab you and really help to make the film feel like the timeless fairy tale it is meant to be.

The acting here is great as well. Koji Yakusho is famous throughout Japan, and his performance here proves yet again his acting talent. His performance ranges from that of the restrained, typical Japanese forty-something to heartbreaking in his moments of greatest tribulation and pain. Throughout he is the only one the audience really has to identify with, and he definitely makes us feel with him. Misa Shimizu also gives a pleasing performance. Her job is harder, but she gives a good enough performance that there is never any question of the oddest parts of Saeko’s sexuality. The rest of the cast is also more than acceptable; they are constantly genuine in believeable, be it one of the films many parts of humor or it’s deeply affecting moments of suffering and angst.

In “Warm Water Under a Red Bridge”, the good far overweighs the bad. From it’s overwhelming visuals to its heartfelt performances and mythical score by Shinichiro Ikebe, it looks and feels like a great and timeless fable. What ultimately keeps the film from succeeding fully are its story and occasional heavy-handedness. Though most things in the film work together quite well, sometimes character’s actions and reactions seem wholly unrealistic considering the amazing things going on around them. This problem is never really major, but sometimes there is enough of this oddity to subtly plague the viewer’s mind. Some moments of back story or emotional climax feel awkward in their execution, though I can’t really describe why or how. A flashback to the death of Saeko’s mother is somewhat choppy and overt in quest of the audience’s pity. There are a few other small, scattered things that make the film feel a little rough, but they are rather trivial in comparison to the film’s better points. If you enjoy slow paced, intellectually engaging Japanese cinema or Shohei Imamura in particular, be sure to pick this one up.