Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2010

The film adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood had its Japan premiere at the author’s alma mater of Waseda University late last month. Joining Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya) on the red carpet were stars Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note; right) and Rinko Kikuchi (Babel; far right), as well as other cast members. “I can’t express how fantastic this piece is,” said Matsuyama. “I really do believe it is perfect.” Kikuchi enthused: “The time from when I auditioned for the role until today seemed to go by in a flash.” She also confided that she sent Tran a video letter to help win the part. “I’m the type to actively go out and get what I want, rather than waiting to see if it will come.” The director chimed in, “When I imagined [Kikuchi’s character] Naoko, Rinko didn’t really come to mind.” The story is set in Tokyo in the late 1960s. Matsuyama plays Watanabe, a young university student struggling to choose between two women—one the girlfriend of his best friend who committed suicide, the other self-confident and independent. Tran said the story about new love transcends borders: “It’s about the pain you feel when you are in the process of love. Love is growing, and suddenly something stops it. It happens twice to Watanabe.” Oddly enough, the Beatles classic from which the book takes its name doesn’t get a lot of play in the film. “The song is too soft, too cute, too sentimental,” Tran said. “What happens with the characters is really stronger than that song.”