The Japanese Wife (2010)
Snehmoy (Rahul Bose) and Miyage (Chigusa Takaku) are pen friends who exchange wedding vows through letters. Fifteen years pass but they never meet. Yet the bond of marriage is strong between them. This unusual relationship comes under a cloud when a young widow, Sandhya (Raima Sen), comes to stay with Snehmoy along with her eight-year-old son Poltu. Snehmoy and the little boy bond and the arithmetic teacher discovers the joy of palpable bonds and fatherhood. There develops an inexplicable thread of understanding with Sandhya too. But Snehmoy remained loyal to his unseen Japanese wife.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Similar titles
Reviews
Such a frustrating disappointment
Simply A Masterpiece
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Fresh and Exciting
The Japanese Wife is just another piece of diamond. Rahul Bose and Chigusa Takaku have done a wonderful job. Although, Japan is my favorite country and Japanese are the most preferred people for me as I have a big respect for them. This movie just made me to cry which I really could n't stop. Trust me, this is just a movie based on Platonic love and it specifies what is a true love is. The Japanese Wife just made my day and now I wish I could also marry a Japanese girl. Loved this movie to the core. I would recommend this movie to all the audience. Really a sweet and a brilliant movie. I just that a sequel to The Japanese Wife comes very soon. I really can't wait to watch it. Aparna Sen just did a great job and wish she comes out with a sequel to it very soon.
It is another pseudo artistic movie. I watched hoping being an Aparna Sen movie it should be good, but was disappointed.It lacks story, acting as well as punchline. Reema is totally wasted. There is no depth nor details. Instead of Japanese it could have easily been Mumbai wife. How they became pen-friends remains a mystery. There is old style thunderstorm and rain to emphasize something bad is going to happen. Despite being relatively short movie, it is tiring and unrealistic. There is a young guy and a young widow living under one roof with no hot outcome ... totally unrealistic in today's world.Overall, it is an avoidable movie. Be ready to be disappointed.
You won't take your eyes off the screen from the opening scene to the closing credits of "The Japanese Wife." Although this is a simple love story, it's visual style and look reminded me of another great Indian film, "Water" which also had a female director, Deepa Mehta. Aparna Sen, the director of "The Japanese Wife" uses the visual beauty of India, especially the rivers, as effectively as the cinematography of "Water." The acting is superb, as Rahul Bose and Chigusa Takaku as the star-crossed spouses are excellent. The supporting cast, mainly the aunt (Moushoumi Chatterjee) and a little boy(Rudranil Ghosh) are both very good. The story is a very basic one showing 2 people of vastly different cultures falling in love via letter writing. The universal message of loneliness and yearning are depicted in a very interesting way.Even as a cynical American, I cannot recommend this film highly enough.
I liked previous Apran Sen's movies, specially the very first one - '36 Chowranghee Lane'. But in contrary to common view, it was quite disappointing. May be I was expecting too much. As I am residing in Japan for quite long, I know how improbable is this story. Also, how they two first became pen-friends remains a mystery. This movie sometimes tried to be realistic, and sometimes too dreamy. But happened to be neither serious nor entertaining. Only the cinematography looks good. Humors are also mostly did not work (for me). But its a relative thing. If anyone prefers impractical but idealistic characters in movies, they may like it. Usually reliable Rahul Bose looks very much like 'acting', hardly natural. But seems this movie has a big fan-base, so you can also give it a try.