Norwegian Wood
Directed by Anh Hung Tran
Written by Anh Hung Tran, from the novel by Haruki Murakami
Japan, 2010
Haruki Murakami’s dense novel Norwegian Wood, which derives its title from an enigmatic Beatles song, has been celebrated around the world since its publication some years ago. Typically, the road to adapting any novel to the silver screen is paved with various trappings which, if mishandled, will earn the filmmakers the scorn of movie goers hoping to see faithful representations of their favourite stories. Given Norwegian Wood‘s near universal praise of the highest order, anyone willing to throw themselves into the process of translating that specific piece of literature from page to screen was taking a risk, regardless of how successful already said screenplay writer and director were, even acclaimed Vietnamese filmmaker Anh Hung Tran, known to most for for Scent of the Green Papaya, winner of the Caméra...
Directed by Anh Hung Tran
Written by Anh Hung Tran, from the novel by Haruki Murakami
Japan, 2010
Haruki Murakami’s dense novel Norwegian Wood, which derives its title from an enigmatic Beatles song, has been celebrated around the world since its publication some years ago. Typically, the road to adapting any novel to the silver screen is paved with various trappings which, if mishandled, will earn the filmmakers the scorn of movie goers hoping to see faithful representations of their favourite stories. Given Norwegian Wood‘s near universal praise of the highest order, anyone willing to throw themselves into the process of translating that specific piece of literature from page to screen was taking a risk, regardless of how successful already said screenplay writer and director were, even acclaimed Vietnamese filmmaker Anh Hung Tran, known to most for for Scent of the Green Papaya, winner of the Caméra...
- 2/1/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
"With his intuitive penchant for lingering, privileged sensations, Tran Anh Hung would seem to be an inspired choice to film Haruki Murakami's languid-erotic 1987 bestseller Norwegian Wood, where the eponymous Beatles anthem can have the effect of Proust's madeleine," writes Fernando F Croce in Slant. "When it does come, sung softly in English in a cottage in the pastoral outskirts of Tokyo, the tune quickly brings tears to the eyes of Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), whose private anguish is momentarily alleviated and then unsettled by the pop song's wistful evocation of ephemeral affairs: 'And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown…' With its gentle camera movements and wizardly cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bin's amber light, the moment glows and shivers. It also illustrates, unfortunately, how Tran's adaptation works most effectively in such impressionistic glances and instants than as an emotional whole, where the swoony aesthetic comes to...
- 1/8/2012
- MUBI
In Anh Hung Tran’s adaptation of the beloved Haruki Murakami novel Norwegian Wood, the French-Vietnamese director attempts a bold feat: to transform the lyrical language of one of Japan’s most acclaimed contemporary authors into a big screen love song. While some will be quick to dismiss the notion of adapting a book this layered into a film as impossible or irrelevant, there is a certain fascination in seeing Murakmai’s world of nostalgia come to life. The collaboration may seem like an odd fit, especially for anyone whose seen Tran’s previous work, I Come With the Rain a neo-noir film starring Josh Hartnett, as well as his other films (The Scent of Green Papaya, Cyclo, The Vertical Ray of the Sun), which mainly have focused on life in Vietnam. Yet the filmmaker is still able to conjure a quiet mood that is appropriate to the tone of...
- 1/7/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Everett Tran Anh Hung on the set of ‘Norwegian Wood.’
When film director Tran Anh Hung first read the novel, “Norwegian Wood,” by Haruki Murakami, he was 28 years old. “I really had that feeling that the book somehow revealed something about myself,” he said.
Today, Tran’s own film adaptation of “Norwegian Wood” opens in the U.S. But it was a long journey for the French-Vietnamese director, who also helmed the films “The Scent of Green Papaya,” “The Vertical...
When film director Tran Anh Hung first read the novel, “Norwegian Wood,” by Haruki Murakami, he was 28 years old. “I really had that feeling that the book somehow revealed something about myself,” he said.
Today, Tran’s own film adaptation of “Norwegian Wood” opens in the U.S. But it was a long journey for the French-Vietnamese director, who also helmed the films “The Scent of Green Papaya,” “The Vertical...
- 1/6/2012
- by Barbara Chai
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Haruki Murakami's 1987 novel Norwegian Wood became a phenomenon not only in his native country of Japan, but also became required reading for young people here in the States, though it was deemed controversial in both countries due to its frank portrayal of sexuality. The story follows Tokyo college student Toru Watanabe going through a coming-of-age in the '60s, having to choose between two very different women, and considering how quickly books are adapted these days, it may be a surprise that it took 23 years for someone to tackle it. That's because the publicity-shy Murakami refused to let anyone get the rights to make his books into films until French-Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung came along. The acclaimed filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated The Scent of Green Papaya...
- 1/5/2012
- Comingsoon.net
Published in 1987 and translated into 33 languages, Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel first hit the big screen in movie form back in 2010, and now the U.S is finally (better late than never) set to see Tran Anh Hung's bittersweet (get ya Kleenex ready) opus....Norwegian wood. N W opens in theaters beginning January 6, 2012. Plotline: Tokyo, the late 1960s...Students around the world are uniting to overthrow the establishment and Toru Watanabe’s personal life is similarly in tumult. At heart, he is deeply devoted to his first love, Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman. But their complex bond has been forged by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Watanabe lives with the influence of death everywhere. That is, until Midori, a girl who is everything that Naoko is not – outgoing, vivacious, supremely self-confident – marches into his life and Watanabe must choose between his past and his future.
- 12/5/2011
- 24framespersecond.net
Norwegian Wood
Written by by Haruki Murakami and Anh Hung Tran
Directed by Anh Hung Tran
2010, Japan
All the truly great authors are dead. That may be a belittling statement to the contemporary literary world, but it’s a statement that isn’t without foundation. Our age is one of endless celebrity autobiographies and self help books rather than one of outstanding literary voices. Of course they are exceptions, which include Haruki Murakami, who has earned comparison to the likes of Franz Kafka and Thomas Pynchon. What makes his work so profound is the way in which he marries surrealist fantasy with the monotony of the everyday.
In this age of cross-media adaptations and endless remakes, it’s shocking that someone with such vision has had limited exposure on the big screen, with only Tony Takitani (based on a short story of the same name) on which to call. The...
Written by by Haruki Murakami and Anh Hung Tran
Directed by Anh Hung Tran
2010, Japan
All the truly great authors are dead. That may be a belittling statement to the contemporary literary world, but it’s a statement that isn’t without foundation. Our age is one of endless celebrity autobiographies and self help books rather than one of outstanding literary voices. Of course they are exceptions, which include Haruki Murakami, who has earned comparison to the likes of Franz Kafka and Thomas Pynchon. What makes his work so profound is the way in which he marries surrealist fantasy with the monotony of the everyday.
In this age of cross-media adaptations and endless remakes, it’s shocking that someone with such vision has had limited exposure on the big screen, with only Tony Takitani (based on a short story of the same name) on which to call. The...
- 9/23/2011
- by Robert Simpson
- SoundOnSight
Does Japanese period costume reflect on contemporary fashion? French born writer Aurélie Coulibaly appraises the hipster style of Norwegian Wood.
Youth, love, Japan, 1960s; Norwegian Wood (2010, directed by Anh Hung Tran) is a fable on loss and growing up. Set from the summer of ’67 through to a spring morning just a few years later, somewhere between child and adulthood, we meet an assorted group of angelic characters to move any sensitive soul.
We are in Tokyo, and along with the hectic political context of students’ protests against established order, alternatively contemplating tormented Naoko (Rinko Kikushi) and youthful Midori (Kiko Mizuhara) in their intense, yet poetic relationship with Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama). All are beautiful and secretive, ethereally flowing over the troubled waters of adolescence. Costume designer Yen Khe Luguern (first credit for a feature movie) selected different characteristics of 60?s fashion to subtly highlight the protagonists’ personalities. Khe Luguern’s...
Youth, love, Japan, 1960s; Norwegian Wood (2010, directed by Anh Hung Tran) is a fable on loss and growing up. Set from the summer of ’67 through to a spring morning just a few years later, somewhere between child and adulthood, we meet an assorted group of angelic characters to move any sensitive soul.
We are in Tokyo, and along with the hectic political context of students’ protests against established order, alternatively contemplating tormented Naoko (Rinko Kikushi) and youthful Midori (Kiko Mizuhara) in their intense, yet poetic relationship with Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama). All are beautiful and secretive, ethereally flowing over the troubled waters of adolescence. Costume designer Yen Khe Luguern (first credit for a feature movie) selected different characteristics of 60?s fashion to subtly highlight the protagonists’ personalities. Khe Luguern’s...
- 7/8/2011
- by Chris Laverty
- Clothes on Film
Does Japanese period costume reflect on contemporary fashion? French born writer Aurélie Coulibaly appraises the hipster style of Norwegian Wood.
Youth, love, Japan, 1960s; Norwegian Wood (2010, directed by Anh Hung Tran) is a fable on loss and growing up. Set from the summer of ’67 through to a spring morning just a few years later, somewhere between child and adulthood, we meet an assorted group of angelic characters to move any sensitive soul.
We are in Tokyo, and along with the hectic political context of students’ protests against established order, alternatively contemplating tormented Naoko (Rinko Kikushi) and youthful Midori (Kiko Mizuhara) in their intense, yet poetic relationship with Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama). All are beautiful and secretive, ethereally flowing over the troubled waters of adolescence. Costume designer Yen Khe Luguern (first credit for a feature movie) selected different characteristics of 60′s fashion to subtly highlight the protagonists’ personalities. Khe Luguern’s...
Youth, love, Japan, 1960s; Norwegian Wood (2010, directed by Anh Hung Tran) is a fable on loss and growing up. Set from the summer of ’67 through to a spring morning just a few years later, somewhere between child and adulthood, we meet an assorted group of angelic characters to move any sensitive soul.
We are in Tokyo, and along with the hectic political context of students’ protests against established order, alternatively contemplating tormented Naoko (Rinko Kikushi) and youthful Midori (Kiko Mizuhara) in their intense, yet poetic relationship with Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama). All are beautiful and secretive, ethereally flowing over the troubled waters of adolescence. Costume designer Yen Khe Luguern (first credit for a feature movie) selected different characteristics of 60′s fashion to subtly highlight the protagonists’ personalities. Khe Luguern’s...
- 7/8/2011
- by Chris Laverty
- Clothes on Film
In this week’s World Cinema column, Nick looks at the recent movie adaptation of the best-selling novel, Norwegian Wood, and wonders what went wrong...
So I went to see Norwegian Wood a few weeks ago. For those unfamiliar, Norwegian Wood is not only the name of a particularly good Lennon/McCartney Beatles composition, but also the title of the 1987 novel by Haruki Murakami, an author who, since widespread publication of his work into English began in 2000, has become increasingly well known outside his native Japan.
It tells the nostalgic tale of Toru Watanabe, a student in 60s Tokyo who lives through an adolescence of sexual awakening, student protest, profound emotional loss and rebirth. On its original publication in Japan, the book went supernova, making Murakami a superstar author and causing him to flee the country to escape from his new found fame. As an indication of how crazy it got,...
So I went to see Norwegian Wood a few weeks ago. For those unfamiliar, Norwegian Wood is not only the name of a particularly good Lennon/McCartney Beatles composition, but also the title of the 1987 novel by Haruki Murakami, an author who, since widespread publication of his work into English began in 2000, has become increasingly well known outside his native Japan.
It tells the nostalgic tale of Toru Watanabe, a student in 60s Tokyo who lives through an adolescence of sexual awakening, student protest, profound emotional loss and rebirth. On its original publication in Japan, the book went supernova, making Murakami a superstar author and causing him to flee the country to escape from his new found fame. As an indication of how crazy it got,...
- 3/23/2011
- Den of Geek
In Haruki Murakami's bestselling novel of 1987, the 37-year-old narrator, Toru Watanabe, is transported back to his student days in late 1960s Tokyo by hearing the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" on the loudspeaker system of an airliner as he flies into Hamburg. It is a time of student unrest and strident demonstrations, but in the lengthy novel and the film carved out of it, this is merely the background to a delicate love story, or series of love stories. The central tale concerns the reserved Watanabe's devotion to the mentally disturbed Naoko, the former girlfriend of Watanabe's only close friend, Kizuki, who committed suicide at the age of 17. It is a doomed affair that after a single night of love is conducted during visits to an asylum outside Kobe where Naoko is being cared for by an older woman, Reiko, a musician who's also recovering from a breakdown. It is Reiko who sings,...
- 3/13/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Norwegian Wood is the film adaptation of the highly praised and successful novel of the same name by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. Faithful to the novel, the film explores the similar themes and human emotions of alienation, loneliness, and nostalgia. Murakami has always been a writer intent on combining western influence with Japanese culture, surrealism and fantasy with crippling reality, and above all sincerity with perversion. The film’s highly emotive story is drawn ever-present with the intricately crafted score by Radiohead musician Johnny Greenwood, which is augmented by songs from krautrock pioneers Can.
Greenwood (formally noted for such scores as There Will be Blood) approaches the score with the same sincerity that Murakami writes with; there seems to be a genuine respect and appreciation among both Greenwood and Murakami, particularly heard on ‘And I’ll Come and See’, and it is beyond speculation to say either were informed in the participation of the other,...
Greenwood (formally noted for such scores as There Will be Blood) approaches the score with the same sincerity that Murakami writes with; there seems to be a genuine respect and appreciation among both Greenwood and Murakami, particularly heard on ‘And I’ll Come and See’, and it is beyond speculation to say either were informed in the participation of the other,...
- 3/7/2011
- by Kaitlin McNabb
- SoundOnSight
A reclusive author, millions of critical fans – and Tran Anh Hung doesn't even speak Japanese. The director explains how his adaptation of Norwegian Wood ever got made
Tran Anh Hung says he wants to be less interested in films. He wants to be less steeped in the knowledge of music, art and literature; free of the cultural baggage most people spend a lifetime accumulating. Despite a career quietly racking up prizes at Cannes, Venice and the Césars, as well as an Oscar nomination, he'd rather not think about the fuss and ceremony of awards, either. Truth be told, the softly spoken 48-year-old Vietnamese-born film-maker wants to be shot of any external pressure that might interfere with him making his meticulously composed films.
It's a tough challenge: Tran's latest work is an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. To describe the novel as a coming-of-age cult classic is something of...
Tran Anh Hung says he wants to be less interested in films. He wants to be less steeped in the knowledge of music, art and literature; free of the cultural baggage most people spend a lifetime accumulating. Despite a career quietly racking up prizes at Cannes, Venice and the Césars, as well as an Oscar nomination, he'd rather not think about the fuss and ceremony of awards, either. Truth be told, the softly spoken 48-year-old Vietnamese-born film-maker wants to be shot of any external pressure that might interfere with him making his meticulously composed films.
It's a tough challenge: Tran's latest work is an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. To describe the novel as a coming-of-age cult classic is something of...
- 3/4/2011
- by Nosheen Iqbal
- The Guardian - Film News
Her smouldering looks and natural talent have made Oscar-nominated actor Rinko Kikuchi a star of the big screen. But she's also a favourite among fashion's elite. We catch up with Japan's most versatile leading lady
Rinko Kikuchi stands very still. It's the stillness of someone in perfect control, someone quietly absorbing a bright unfolding fame, the stillness of a turned-off fountain in a shopping centre after dark, pennies glistening at the bottom.
In 2006 Kikuchi became the first living Japanese actress to be nominated for an Oscar in 50 years for her role in Babel – a role where (then 25) she played a deaf-mute 16-year-old, completely silent throughout. Babel was a drama about communication, with her grieving, speechless schoolgirl the stand-out performance in a film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. In a scene set in a strobe-lit, noisy Tokyo nightclub, Kikuchi hears nothing, only feeling the music. Her delicate, expressive face registers...
Rinko Kikuchi stands very still. It's the stillness of someone in perfect control, someone quietly absorbing a bright unfolding fame, the stillness of a turned-off fountain in a shopping centre after dark, pennies glistening at the bottom.
In 2006 Kikuchi became the first living Japanese actress to be nominated for an Oscar in 50 years for her role in Babel – a role where (then 25) she played a deaf-mute 16-year-old, completely silent throughout. Babel was a drama about communication, with her grieving, speechless schoolgirl the stand-out performance in a film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. In a scene set in a strobe-lit, noisy Tokyo nightclub, Kikuchi hears nothing, only feeling the music. Her delicate, expressive face registers...
- 2/27/2011
- by Eva Wiseman
- The Guardian - Film News
Here’s one I’ve been looking forward to for a while. Even though it showed at both the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals to not-so-great reviews, Norwegian Wood is still something I find myself curious about and excited for. Based on the novel of the same name by Haruki Murakami, directed by Tran Anh Hung and starring Kenichi Matsuyama and Rinko Kikuchi, the romantic drama has just gotten a trailer from The Guardian (via NoneSuch), and I think it looks pretty beautiful.
The shots selected here feel like there’s a real sense of thought put into them, and also have a satisfying look to them on a purely technical level. The two leads look pretty nice together, although this lets us know pretty clearly that it might not work out for them. It’s also nice that the preview has the Beatles song that shares a name...
The shots selected here feel like there’s a real sense of thought put into them, and also have a satisfying look to them on a purely technical level. The two leads look pretty nice together, although this lets us know pretty clearly that it might not work out for them. It’s also nice that the preview has the Beatles song that shares a name...
- 2/22/2011
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Movie premieres in Japan, 23 years after Haruki Murakami's novel published
Any film director who adapts an acclaimed novel runs the risk of upsetting the author's hypersensitive fans. The risks magnify when the writer is the famously ruminative Haruki Murakami.
The Japanese author's surreal treatment of the ills of modern society has won him millions of fans worldwide and a reputation for introspection that will now extend to the big screen.
The film adaptation of his bestseller Norwegian Wood opens in cinemas in Japan tomorrow, 23 years after the book first enraptured readers with its themes of love, loss and mental illness.
Aware that Murakami's devotees will be looking to pounce on every perceived deviation from the novel, the movie's director, Tran Anh Hung, says every effort has been made to capture the essence of the writer's work.
"Murakami protected his work," Tran said of his first meeting with the "quiet,...
Any film director who adapts an acclaimed novel runs the risk of upsetting the author's hypersensitive fans. The risks magnify when the writer is the famously ruminative Haruki Murakami.
The Japanese author's surreal treatment of the ills of modern society has won him millions of fans worldwide and a reputation for introspection that will now extend to the big screen.
The film adaptation of his bestseller Norwegian Wood opens in cinemas in Japan tomorrow, 23 years after the book first enraptured readers with its themes of love, loss and mental illness.
Aware that Murakami's devotees will be looking to pounce on every perceived deviation from the novel, the movie's director, Tran Anh Hung, says every effort has been made to capture the essence of the writer's work.
"Murakami protected his work," Tran said of his first meeting with the "quiet,...
- 12/11/2010
- by Justin McCurry
- The Guardian - Film News
Brand new images have just arrived for several big name films that will be showing in and out of competition at this year's 67th Venice Film Festival including brand new looks at Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, Julie Taymor's The Tempest, Robert Rodriguez's Machete, Anh Hung Tran's Norwegian Wood, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere and Ben Affleck's The Town.
The festival runs from September 1 - 11 and I only wish I was going to be in attendance as films such as Somewhere and The Tempest won't be crossing over and showing in Toronto. Not to mention, while I am excited for my first trip to Toronto this year, it wouldn't be half-bad hanging out in Venice, Italy. Nevertheless, let's get to the previews...
I've included one pic from each film directly below. You can click on the picture or the link to be taken to the full gallery,...
The festival runs from September 1 - 11 and I only wish I was going to be in attendance as films such as Somewhere and The Tempest won't be crossing over and showing in Toronto. Not to mention, while I am excited for my first trip to Toronto this year, it wouldn't be half-bad hanging out in Venice, Italy. Nevertheless, let's get to the previews...
I've included one pic from each film directly below. You can click on the picture or the link to be taken to the full gallery,...
- 8/26/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Last March we reported that Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood would be providing original music for Tran Anh Hung’s Norwegian Wood, based on the Haruki Murakami‘s best-selling novel which borrows the famous Beatles song. Now, we have the first teaser via The Playlist. The drama stars Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) and Kenichi Matsuyama. Check out our first glimpse below.
Synopsis (of the novel): The story’s protagonist and narrator is Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a freshman university student living in Tokyo. Through Toru’s reminiscences we see him develop relationships with two very different women — the beautiful yet emotionally troubled Naoko, and the outgoing, lively Midori.
Norwegian Wood has a December 11th release in Japan but no Us distributor yet.
Are you looking forward to the film? Would you be if Greenwood wasn’t attached?
You can e-mail Jordan Raup. Be sure to follow...
Synopsis (of the novel): The story’s protagonist and narrator is Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a freshman university student living in Tokyo. Through Toru’s reminiscences we see him develop relationships with two very different women — the beautiful yet emotionally troubled Naoko, and the outgoing, lively Midori.
Norwegian Wood has a December 11th release in Japan but no Us distributor yet.
Are you looking forward to the film? Would you be if Greenwood wasn’t attached?
You can e-mail Jordan Raup. Be sure to follow...
- 7/20/2010
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The official website for Anh Hung Tran’ film adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s 1987 novel Norwegian Wood has been updated with a brief teaser. All I can say is thank god they managed to get the song rights. Nothing is worse than having to use a cover of a song that’s completely integral to your plot. Yeah, I’m lookin’ at you, Golden Slumber.
According to the current Japanese blurb, the film begins with 37-year-old Toru Watanabe on a plane bound for Germany. He listens to the Beatles song “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” and begins to think about his youth.
Back in high school, Toru (Kenichi Matsuyama) was best friends with Kizuki, who was dating Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi). After Kizuki suddenly commits suicide, Toru tries to escape his feelings of loss by going to a Tokyo university. However, while in Tokyo he’s reunited with Naoko.
“Norwegian Wood...
According to the current Japanese blurb, the film begins with 37-year-old Toru Watanabe on a plane bound for Germany. He listens to the Beatles song “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” and begins to think about his youth.
Back in high school, Toru (Kenichi Matsuyama) was best friends with Kizuki, who was dating Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi). After Kizuki suddenly commits suicide, Toru tries to escape his feelings of loss by going to a Tokyo university. However, while in Tokyo he’s reunited with Naoko.
“Norwegian Wood...
- 7/19/2010
- Nippon Cinema
“I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.”
The melancholy tune and sentiment of this classic Beatles song seems to have taken the life of Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama), who is similarly uncertain as to how he should view his relationships. At heart, a quiet and serious young Tokyo college student in 1969, Watanabe, is deeply devoted to his first love, Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), a beautiful and introspective young woman.
But their mutual passion is made by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Watanabe lives with the influence of death everywhere, while Naoko feels as if some integral part of her has been permanently lost. On the night of Naoko’s 20th birthday, they finally made love to each other. However, shortly thereafter Naoko decided to quit college and become a recluse.
It is at that time Midori (Kiko Mizuhara) – a girl who...
The melancholy tune and sentiment of this classic Beatles song seems to have taken the life of Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama), who is similarly uncertain as to how he should view his relationships. At heart, a quiet and serious young Tokyo college student in 1969, Watanabe, is deeply devoted to his first love, Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), a beautiful and introspective young woman.
But their mutual passion is made by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Watanabe lives with the influence of death everywhere, while Naoko feels as if some integral part of her has been permanently lost. On the night of Naoko’s 20th birthday, they finally made love to each other. However, shortly thereafter Naoko decided to quit college and become a recluse.
It is at that time Midori (Kiko Mizuhara) – a girl who...
- 7/18/2010
- by noreply@blogger.com (Flicks News)
- FlicksNews.net
Given Radiohead's presence on the soundtrack to Tran Ahn-Hung's I Come With The Rain it should come as no surprise that Tran has turned to Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood to score his upcoming film adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. But the fact that it's not surprising news doesn't make it any less fantastic.
Greenwood, of course, made his debut as a film score composer with P.T. Anderson's There Will Be Blood and he did such a fantastic job there that I'm honestly surprised that he hasn't had offers pouring in since. Anyone who has read any Murakami can tell you that music plays a vitally important role in the man's work so a good score is absolutely essential here and Greenwood seems like an inspired choice.
"I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me."
The melancholy tune and sentiment of this...
Greenwood, of course, made his debut as a film score composer with P.T. Anderson's There Will Be Blood and he did such a fantastic job there that I'm honestly surprised that he hasn't had offers pouring in since. Anyone who has read any Murakami can tell you that music plays a vitally important role in the man's work so a good score is absolutely essential here and Greenwood seems like an inspired choice.
"I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me."
The melancholy tune and sentiment of this...
- 3/24/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The rock boffin is to return to movie soundtracks, writing music for an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood
Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood will reportedly return to film scoring, writing music for an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. The score will be based on a composition Greenwood wrote for the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Greenwood's last foray into feature films was his Grammy-nominated soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. Just as that score was derived from an earlier work, Popcorn Superhet Receiver, Greenwood's composition expands upon an orchestral piece called Dogwood, which debuted last month.
The maverick musician announced the project at BBC's Maida Vale studios, following Dogwood's premiere. "I wrote [the] piece mostly in hotels and dressing rooms while touring with Radiohead," he told TwentyFourBit. "This was more practical than glamorous – lots of time sitting indoors, lots of instruments about – and aside from picking...
Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood will reportedly return to film scoring, writing music for an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. The score will be based on a composition Greenwood wrote for the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Greenwood's last foray into feature films was his Grammy-nominated soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. Just as that score was derived from an earlier work, Popcorn Superhet Receiver, Greenwood's composition expands upon an orchestral piece called Dogwood, which debuted last month.
The maverick musician announced the project at BBC's Maida Vale studios, following Dogwood's premiere. "I wrote [the] piece mostly in hotels and dressing rooms while touring with Radiohead," he told TwentyFourBit. "This was more practical than glamorous – lots of time sitting indoors, lots of instruments about – and aside from picking...
- 3/8/2010
- by Sean Michaels
- The Guardian - Film News
When word of the upcoming adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood first came out my only response was "Perfect. Just perfect." While there is very much a aprt of me that would love to see someone tackle one of his more surreal pieces - A Wild Sheep Chase or The Wind Up Bird Chronicle could be stellar in the right hands - the reality is that it makes far more sense to start with one of his more accessible and realistic novels for a first adaption, the only previous Murakami to make it to the big screen being based on a short story. And of Murakami's more straight forward works Norwegian Wood is a great favorite, a melancholic riff on young love. And the news that Tran Ahn Hung - the Vietnamese director of Cyclo and The Scent of Green Papaya - was the man bringing Murakami to the screen ... well,...
- 1/13/2010
- Screen Anarchy
It was only just the other day that something about his thriller I Come With The Rain surfaced and Tran Anh Hung’s Japanese language adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood is now making news with the announcement of his three leads… this is big, big news!
Kenichi Matsuyama has been chosen to play the lead as the college student Toru Watanabe, while Rinko Kikuchi plays his emotionally troubled lover Naoko. The story’s heroine, a lively young woman named Midori, will be played by ViVi fashion model Kiko Mizuhara in her very first acting role. “Norwegian Wood” follows Toru’s relationships with these two very different women, as well as his dealing with the death of a friend. Tokyograph
Kenichi is arguably one of the great young actors of his generation and Rinko has already made a name for herself internationally with Babel and Brothers Bloom and she...
Kenichi Matsuyama has been chosen to play the lead as the college student Toru Watanabe, while Rinko Kikuchi plays his emotionally troubled lover Naoko. The story’s heroine, a lively young woman named Midori, will be played by ViVi fashion model Kiko Mizuhara in her very first acting role. “Norwegian Wood” follows Toru’s relationships with these two very different women, as well as his dealing with the death of a friend. Tokyograph
Kenichi is arguably one of the great young actors of his generation and Rinko has already made a name for herself internationally with Babel and Brothers Bloom and she...
- 5/15/2009
- by Mack
- Screen Anarchy
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