Cherry Blossoms (2008)
Starring: Hannelore
Elsner, Elmar
Wepper Director: Doris
Dorrie
Song of Life, Dance of Shadows
My Top 10 Film List seems to get a little more expansive each year, but CHERRY BLOSSOMS is definitely on it. It is profound in its simplicity. The Plot: Wife (Hannelore Elsner) discovers that her husband Elmar Wepper) of many years is dying. He doesn’t know it & she doesn’t tell him. She manages to arrange a trip with their adult chirldren living in Berlin, although he would prefer to stay home. The children aren’t informed about his condition. Wife dies unexpectedly. Husband is lost without her. He goes to visit son Karl who lives in Tokyo. Father hooks up with a young dancer. Karl assumes the worst.
Those
are the bare bones.
What we
learn about the relationships is where the more meaningful elements are
revealed.
For one
thing, we learn that the wife has a more or less hidden love of the Japanese
performance/dance called Butoh (boo-toe). It is not clear how this transpired
since, until recently, Butoh was not well known outside Japan. An understanding
of Butoh is really helpful when viewing CHERRY BLOSSOMS, but not absolutely
necessary. Key elements are illustrated by Tadashi Endo) in a scene set in
Berlin where the dancer is performing. The girl (Aya Irizuki) in Japan (who is
rehearsing outdoors a performance involving a pink telephone with a long cord.)
The
colors of pink, green & white are found everywhere in the movie, but subtly
increase in intensity when the husband goes to Japan. I think I became aware of
this only towards the end of the film, but when I watched the film again it was
much more apparent. Naturally this represents the colors associated with
“Cherry Blossom Time”—a sort of national event in Japan. I think the green
symbolizes the leaves & the pink & white the flower. I also think white
symbolizes death. It’s interesting how this color scheme is naturally enhanced
in Japan, in the neon lights of Tokyo, in the food, and the kimonos quests all
wear in an informal hotel near Mt. Fuji.
As for
Butoh, it emerged as a performance art in post-WWII Japan, partially as a
reaction to the the restriction imposed on dancers by the traditional Nōh.
There are 2 main types of Butoh. One is the basically non-movement variety, and
the other that relies on agility and at least some familiarity with traditional
dance, even ballet. The images portrayed are more often than not, visceral
themes of death, blood—and eventual trandscendece. The artists are almost nude
(with body paint) in many scenes. Elements of lighting & set are important
& reflect post-WWI German expressionism. I believe it has influenced
performers like Marilyn Manson, Madonna & others, and films like The Cell.
When the
wide goes to the Berlin performance, she tries to coach her husband, but he
will not go. Instead he waits outside the theatre, staring at the walls with
artistic graffeti. Clearly, he is a man set in ways, resistant to change. Be
that as it may, that evening he watches as his wife begins to dance, and she
finally gets him to do some movements with her. This scene was powerful because
it showed just how devoted he was to her.
l
Their
children don’t undertand them, particularly him. There is residual resentment against
him resulting from his rather aloof parenting. They resented that their mother
was so solicitous In fact there is a strong suggestion that the lone daughter
is a Lesbian, carrying on light-hearted dalliance with her sister-in-law (who
is the only member of the immediate family who seems sympathetic to either
parent.) With the death of their mother in Berlin, they don’t know what to do
with their father. He solves their dilemma by suddenly going to Tokyo to vistit
the single son who lives there.
The
father goes basically unannounced & definitely not invited. He takes a
single suitcase with him. Among the few items in it are his wife’s (cherry
blossom) kimono, her (green) sweater, skirt and…all the money he has cleaned
out from his bank account.
And here
this review ends, I don’t want to give any more away.
Well,
two more things. The actress who plays the Butoh artist is absolutely
wonderful. She appears to be a trained dancer & acts a messanger from the
world of the living to the realm of the dead.
The
sequence in Japan has a startling & perfectly cathartic conclusion.
Review: JEFarrow
Updated 10/09
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