Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2010

©２０１０「ノルウェイの森」村上春樹／アスミック・エース、フジテレビジョン

This is the long-awaited adaptation of the most famous book from Japan’s best-loved contemporary novelist, Haruki Murakami. Throw in the fact that The Beatles clan uncharacteristically approved the use of the title song and Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead) did the rest of the soundtrack, and you have quite some expectations. Thank the cinema gods, it’s a great film. In fact, French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya), with an all-Japanese cast featuring Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) and Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note), has crafted a masterpiece. Set in the late ’60s, the story starts with childhood sweethearts Kizuki (Kengo Kora) and Naoko (Kikuchi), along with their best pal Watanabe (Matsuyama), enjoying high school. But when Kizuki commits suicide, Watanabe hurries off to college in Tokyo. He and Naoko meet there by chance and, bonded by their love for Kizuki and shared tragic loss, fall in love. But their relationship is complicated by Naoko’s residual emotional damage. With Kikuchi’s highly nuanced performance and a stellar contribution from Matsuyama, this meditation on death and loss and their emotional toll on the living hits all the right notes. See it. English title: Norwegian Wood. (133 min)