The Wash (1988)

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

. . . That can describe how powerful this masterpiece is.Mako is a neglectful husband. Not the most loving man. His wife gradually encounters a widower who is a kind, gentle figure. She eventually makes the transition to leave her husband and go to this fellow.It is not an easy departure. Their marriage was so broken and strained, no one noticed the difference. There was no behind each other's backs or secrecy, it was a simple procedure.There are two daughters. One fears she is entering a loveless relationship like her mother has endured.The other daughter, the more rebellious one, has married a black man, much to Dad's disapproval.Finally, father snaps, but it is too late. He cannot lose his wife, but he already has. He just hasn't accepted it.And mother still does his wash for him.A never-shown incident at a detainment camp during WWII is finally put to rest. When Mako tells Mother he has accepted what has happened, she tells him that she never cheated on him when they were young in the forties.For some reason, this upsets father.One daughter breaks off her neglectful relationship with her boyfriend.The married daughter answers her door one night and is surprised to find . .. her father.Seeking a family. Any family. And she welcomes him in to her home. Mother meanwhile, must contend with her new husband visiting the grave of his first wife. He is allowed to see his first spouse. And still have love deep in his heart for her.Is she allowed the same for her first husband?

Excellent independent movie whose rare portrayal of a Japanese-American family's struggles hasn't yet surfaced in mainstream media. A couple of plot lines seemed under-developed, but overall it was a beautiful story about tradition, suppressed feelings, and true love after 70.