WARM WATER UNDER A RED BRIDGE - DVD review

Shohei Imamura does not shy away from the taboo topic of sex among the lower class and sometimes the less-than desirable. After World War II, Imamura worked in the black market bootlegging of cigarettes and liquor. It was these experiences and the people he met from which Imamura's films draw their inspiration. In "The Pornographers", he did just that loading the movie with incest, orgies, and voyeurism. It was never done in an explicit manner, but instead with a satirical and tongue-in-cheek tone. At the age of 75, Imamura continues these themes in the somewhat surreal romantic comedy, "Warm Water Under a Red Bridge."

Yosuke is a downtrodden salaryman brought to life wonderfully by Koji Yokusho, who played a similar character in "Shall We Dance?" Yosuke is unemployed, his wife is about to leave him, and he spends most of his free time chatting with the homeless down at the waterfront. During these conversations with a bum named Taro, Yosuke discovers that he stole a golden Buddha statue and hid it inside a house at a seaside town.

Once there, Yosuke meets a woman shoplifting in a supermarket. He discovers the woman, Saeko, builds up a large amount of water inside her that must be released through pleasurable moments, especially sexual. They make love and Yosuke is drenched in a geyser of fluid, which drains into the river attracting various kinds of fish.

Just like the fish, Yosuke is drawn to Saeko by her excessive secretions, after all it's not everyday you meet a woman like that. But, there is a deeper meaning to it all. What Saeko wants is for someone to look past her odd ability and love her for who she truly is.

There's a fairy tale feel to the story, which moves quite slow. The film runs just under two hours, but feels far longer than that. There are gaps within the story where nothing of importance happen and many shots simply linger. Also, the seaside town is a quiet and peaceful place that only adds to the lowkey tone of the film.

While the story takes its time to unfold, there is much to admire in just plain watching this film. I was very much in awe of the visuals I was seeing. The cinematography is just breathtaking. The surroundings are beautiful and they are enhanced by a sparse use of red (the bridge of the title for instance). In addition, Imamura has an uncanny sense of composition, framing everything uniquely. There are quite a few shots where we watch characters from afar or from the outside looking in, giving these scenes a voyeuristic quality.

VIDEO
This DVD is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1:85:1. The transfer is just about perfect as I didn't notice any kind of flaws. The film also looks like it was shot on digital, instead of film, a fact I have no problem with as everything looks gorgeous.

AUDIO
The audio is presented in stereo 2.0 with the original Japanese language track. It sounds clean and crisp.

EXTRAS
Slim pickings. We get a bio and filmography for director Shohei Imamura and a theatrical trailer. In addition, the DVD comes with a two page booklet.

FILM VALUE
Building the premise around a woman's bodily fluids sounds bizarre, there's nothing lurid or explicit about it. The scenes are done tastefully and even amusingly. The story moves at a sluggish pace, but try to stick around because you're patience will be rewarded.