The blossom of harmony
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The blossom of harmony |
| Original title | vision |
| Country of production |
France , Japan |
| Publishing year | 2018 |
| length | 109 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Naomi Kawase |
| script | Naomi Kawase |
| production | Marianne Slot, Naomi Kawase |
| music | Makoto Ozone |
| camera | Arata Dodo |
| cut | Yōichi Shibuya |
| occupation | |
| |
The flower of harmony is a film of Japanese filmmaker and director Naomi Kawase from the year 2018 .
content
It is summer. The French essayist Jeanne (Juliet Binoche) is traveling in Japan and working on a travelogue. She travels on the train and doesn't speak Japanese, so she has a young interpreter named Hana by her side. The two women penetrate deeper and deeper into the interior of Japan, and finally arrive in the mysterious Yoshino mountain forest in Nara.
In this forest the mountain ranger Tomo (Satoshi Nagase) lives quietly and withdrawn with only one hunting dog and is busy day in and day out killing game and cutting down trees. On this day he is visited by Aki (Mari Natsuki), a very old, blind woman who says of herself that she is almost a thousand years old and has a lot to tell him about the mushrooms and plants of the forest.
When Aki has left, Jeanne and her interpreter arrive and ask the dismissive Tomo whether they can stay in his forest house for a few days. He speaks little and is rather disturbed in his loneliness, but finally allows them to do so.
The two women are amazed at the beauty inside the house. Jeanne asks him about the mysterious "Vision" plant, which is supposed to only bloom every thousand years, and tells him that they are looking for it. She knew the plant from an ancient story about medicinal hunting, and the medicinal herb could end all human suffering. Tomo just grumpily says that he has never heard of it and recommends that they ask old Aki about it.
The next morning Aki comes to him and asks him to visit the Kagusha shrine with her, the patron deity of this forest. When Aki notices the strange woman in the house from a distance, she makes a few hints: "It is she. I knew that someone would come into this forest. The forest has been very strange lately. The thousand years are almost up. and soon vision will appear. "
A long time goes by during which Jeanne and Tomo gradually get closer and closer without many words. Jeanne enjoys the silence and being together without questions, so that one day she can say goodbye to her interpreter and is now all alone with the still strange man who suddenly seems like a quiet companion in the middle of a shared loneliness. In the evening she prepares pasta with tomato sauce for him and is surprised when he tells her that he hates tomatoes and doesn't like pasta either. They eat in silence. That same night, the two bodies find each other in a long hug.
Summer goes by and the colors of the forest begin to change. Tomo suddenly has a young man named Suzu (Takenori Iwata) with him, whom he claims to have met somewhere in the mountains. Jeanne asks about the story of the two, but cannot find out anything about it. The two men seem to share a sad past. But this fall, Jeanne also noticed a change in herself: she was pregnant. One day she gives birth to a child in the middle of the forest, who now also belongs to the community of these lonely people.
The question begins to arise, why did Jeanne visit this place? What is the vision spoken of in the ancient wisdom? Are the thousand years really over?
Nature gives the answer in a moment of self-renewal. Suddenly flames burst from the trees and a circle of fire envelops the seeker. Aki begins to turn in the wind and appears in the air. Jeanne and Tomo hold their child. Did the vision come true in the woods?
To the movie
- Original title (Japan): Vision
- Title (France): Voyage á Yoshino
- Title (Germany): The blossom of unity
- Realization: Naomi Kawase
- Script: Naomi Kawase
- Camera: Arata Dodo
- Montage: Yoichi Shibuya
- Music: Makoto Ozone
- Production: Marianne Slot and Naomi Kawase
- Production company: Kumie and Slot Machine
- Distribution (France): Haut et Court
- Country of origin: France and Japan
- Genre: drama
- Format: In color - 2.35: 1
- Duration: 109 minutes
- Published: 2018