SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS
Snow Falling On Cedars is a film that continually jumps back and
forth in time between a 1950 murder trial, the early '40s, when WWII began
for the U.S., and the early-to-mid '30s, when an adolescent love affair
bloomed between a white American boy and a Japanese American girl. Even
though Ishmael (Ethan Hawke) and Hatsue (Youki Kudoh) have been in love
since they were kids (played by Reeve Carney and Ann Suzuki), Hatsue knows
that they can never stay together. Their small Washington fishing village
is inhabited by almost equal numbers of Japanese and whites, but there are
still many deep racial and cultural divisions. Ishmael's father (Sam Shepard),
the publisher and editor of the town's newspaper, is known for his respect
of the Asian community; however, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and
subsequent detention of all Japanese Americans in internment camps ends
any likelihood of a white boy marrying a "Jap" girl, no matter
where his family's sympathies lie.
When a fisherman dies one foggy night many years later, and his body
is found tangled in his net in the North Pacific waters, the local authorities
suspect foul play. Carl Heine (Eric Thal) was known as a very careful boatman,
and not only that, he apparently encountered his longtime colleague Kazuo
Miyamoto (Rick Yune) on the night of his death. While the two men had been
friends in the past, they had recently been at odds over a parcel of land
Kazuo's father bought from Carl's father before the war. The anti-Japanese
sentiment in the area doesn't help things any, so Kazuo is immediately suspected
of murdering Carl Heine on that foggy night at sea. The task of covering
the trial for the newspaper is especially difficult for Ishmael, since his
former lover Hatsue is now married to the accused.
The performances in this film are impeccable with the unfortunate exception
of its lead. Hawke is unspectacular as Ishmael, but the fact that he is
surrounded by such talent helps a lot. Kudoh is excellent, as are many supporting
cast members like Shepard, James Cromwell as the judge, and James Rebhorn
and Max von Sydow as the attorneys on the case, but they are all practically
overshadowed by Carney and Suzuki as the young cross-cultural lovers. The
performances of these two teens are every bit equal to the emotional intensity
of the scenes they share. Music and scenery are also very important factors
in this movie's overall effect; James Newton Howard's score is majestic,
and the cinema by Robert Richardson features memorable images both good
and bad. Hicks's use of flashback and the repetetive nature of Ishmael's
memories aptly show the conflict within him (even if Hawke doesn't).
Snow Falling On Cedars leaves one with the feeling of having just finished a good novel; this is perhaps the highest praise one could offer a film based on a best-seller. ****½