Film notes and reviews » 2011/12 season » Norwegian Wood, May 2012

Norwegian Wood, May 2012

Japan 2010. Director: Tran Anh Hung.

Certificate 15

The celebrated Vietnamese director filmed this 1960s international cult classic despite not speaking Japanese.

It was shot by Ping Bin Lee the man who worked on In the Mood for Love and the colour and music of this work capture perfectly the mood of Murakami’s classic. The tragic story of student love is a nostalgic throw back (it is told by the main male character in his mature years) to a time when Beatles music, as in the title, can be beautifully melancholic as well as rousing.

A brave attempt at an impossible book to film.

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