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| Showtimes | Sat
March 13 1:00 PM / KAB313C Sun March 14 2:00 PM / KAB314B |
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Japan, 1997, 90 mins, 35mm, color, Japanese w/e.s.
Director TAKAHASHI Yoichiro (in person); Producer YOSHIKAWA Koji; Screenplay KATO Masato; Dir. Photography KODAKA Fumio Editor MIZUSHIMA Kiyoko; Music TSURU Norihiro Cast MIZUHASHI Kenji, ITO Ayumi, SEKINO Yoshiki
Reminiscent of the delicate romances and emotional confusion of youth in Hashiguchi Ryosuke’s LIKE GRAINS OF SAND and Furumaya Tomoyuki’s THIS WINDOW IS YOURS, FISHES IN AUGUST sensitively captures the pain of an unrequited love triangle between three high school students.
As summer ends in the post-industrial, wide open spaces of Tokyo Bay, Kenji is in love with the spirited Reiko. Unfortunately, Reiko is in love with Kenji’s friend and competitor, the Korean-Japanese star of the swim team, Arai. Initially, Arai is supportive of Kenji and offers to act as go-between for him and Reiko. Arai even enlists the help of the local barmaid, Rie, to begin Kenji’s sexual education. However, what begins as a friendly mentorship devolves into a tense competition when Kenji arrives for a date with Reiko only to find her with Arai.
Water imagery forms the visual metaphor and philosophical basis for the film. Pools, aquariums, and dripping faucets provide counterpoints to the coaching advice of Kenji’s swim instructor: "You are just fish. When you are in the water just think about swimming effortlessly. And don’t ever fight the water!" Struggling to cope with the burdens of maturity, Kenji must decide between going against the current represented by Arai and Reiko or choosing his own fluid path into adulthood.
Based on a short novel by Sekikawa Natsuo, Takahashi’s luminous feature debut FISHES IN AUGUST recently won the New Directors Prize at the 46th San Sebastian International Film Festival.
—Brian Lau & Josephine Yeh
Presented with Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California