The movie details the life of a "salary man" architect, Yosuke Sasano, whose company has gone bankrupt and left him an unemployed guy in his middle 40's. In a culture that has traditionally revolved around a concept of employment for life (which has been changing over the years), such a man is tainted in the eyes of other employers. As such, he can't find work and his shrewish wife hounds him for it repeatedly. He runs across an old hobo, Taro, that regales him with tales of a golden Buddha that he took when he was younger, and hid in a small fishing town "by a red bridge". Desperate for money, Yosuke searches for the statue and the town where it's hidden, in hopes of repairing his life. When he finds the town, he catches a shoplifter stealing at a supermarket and follows her-eventually discovering her secret and falling under her spell.

This was one of those movies that bears repeated viewing by those willing to spend some time with it. Themes such as the call for salaried workers to reflect on what they're doing and to try the simpler life-a direct contrast to what most movies in Japan preach (i.e.: salary positions being good, companies being good-guess who finances most movies...)-in an effort to get back to the basics in life which provide the deepest meaning. Why be part of the rat race when even the winners are rats?

The movie pokes subtle humor at societal relationships as well. When Yosuke sees Saeko stealing, he ignores his duty to turn her in and instead finds himself attracted to her. That he's married and has a child is no small matter in this regard and he finds that being stuck in a dead-end marriage as well as being effectively outcast by society as a whole is not such a bad thing as long as you're willing to do the "wrong" thing. The movie is full of such breaks from stereotypes and it routinely questions norms of Japanese culture which really makes this a good character study.

The acting and direction were also well done. Aside from a bit of overuse on the part of Saeko's sexual dilemma (let's just say she's a champion squirter), a lot of detail goes unnoticed until repeated viewings of the movie. The director leaves enough open that you can see his foreshadowing techniques a mile away but he's also subtle enough to keep you guessing as well. The supernatural aspects weren't exactly explained very well but religion allows us to fill in our own blanks and that may be a good idea. While not exactly a great movie, I think it merits a rating of Highly Recommended for fans of Japanese romantic comedies. Good choice for thinkers!

Picture: The picture was presented in anamorphic widescreen, 1.85:1 ratio and looked very crisp and clear. Aside from the occasional compression artifact or soft focus, it was well made.

Sound: The sound was presented in stereo Japanese with English subtitles. I thought the vocals were very clear and the music interesting.

Extras: A director filmography and the original trailer as well as an informative paper insert.

Final Thoughts: I'd have loved a commentary, translated from the director's notes or even some of those popup cultural translation subtitles that a few anime companies use to explain some of the more obscure meanings for me but this was definitely worth checking out. The original title, Akai hashi no shita no nurui mizu, supposedly implies a bit more than the English translation so language buffs can play with that as they wish too.