Hanezu
dir. Naomi Kawase · 2012
Life is a complex interplay of love, longing, and the search for connection amidst the beauty and transience of existence.
"Hanezu" invites you into a world where love blooms quietly against the backdrop of a serene Japanese village, exploring the delicate threads that connect art, nature, and human emotion through the vibrant lens of crimson. A meditation on desire and craftsmanship, this film is a visual poem that resonates with the heart.
Woodwork artist Takumi moves to the small village Asuka in Nara Prefecture. He remodels old homes and lives a peaceful existence with nature. Takumi then meets Kayoko, a woman who went to the same school as Takumi. Kayoko is fascinated with the color crimson. She dyes scarves with the color of hanezu. Kayoko lives with boyfriend Tetsuya, who works as an editor of a PR magazine. They live together. Soon, Kayoko falls in love with Takumi.
Full synopsisspoilers
A woman is torn between two men and two ways of life in this drama from writer and director Naomi Kawase. Kayoko (Hako Oshima) lives a serene existence in Asuka, a village where nature and civilization live in harmony, and she spends her days making scarves and dying them crimson using natural materials. Kayoko shares her home with her long-time boyfriend Tetsuya (Tetsuya Akikawa), who makes his living in the publishing industry and tends his garden in his spare time. While Tutsuya is away on business, Kayoko discovers she's pregnant, which presents her with a serious dilemma -- she's been having an affair with Takumi (Tohta Komizu), a wood sculptor who lives nearby and possesses an earthy sensuality Tatsuya does not.
Koyoko is uncertain which man is the father of her child, and when she tells Takumi her secret, he suggests that as much as he cares for her, he's not certain theirs is a love that will last, with the troubled relationship between his grandfather and her grandmother serving as an example.
Talking points
- the role of nature in personal identity
- the symbolism of color in emotion
- societal pressures on love and relationships
- the intersection of art and life
