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Snow Falling on Cedars
- Review Date: May 7, 2003
- PG-13
- Genre: Drama
- 2000
Common Sense Media says
Good movie for adults and older teens.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there are some battle scenes and a graphic amputation, and some inexplicit but intimate scenes of married couples having sex and teenagers making out.
What's the story?
Late one night, in 1950 Washington state, a Caucasian fisherman named Carl Heine drowned, and circumstantial evidence indicates that he might have been murdered. The last person to see him was a Japanese fisherman, Kazuo Miyamoto, who had a motive -- Heine owned land that would have belonged to Miyamoto's family if not for the Japanese internment during World War II.
Is it any good?
There has never been a movie more literally true to its title -- SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS is indeed a movie with many long, loving scenes of snow falling on cedars. There are also scenes of raindrops plopping in puddles and autumn leaves blowing and children running on the beach. In between, there is a story, impressionistically told, about a murder trial.
As journalist Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke) sits in the balcony of the courtroom taking notes, the background is revealed in snippets and images: Ishmael and Miyamoto's wife, Hatsue, devoted to each other as children and teenagers. Ishmael's father, losing subscribers and advertisers because of his editorials against racism. Heine's father, promising Miyamoto's father that he would not foreclose while they were in the interment camp. Heine's mother, foreclosing after her husband died. Hatsue's mother, telling her to stay away from white boys. Ishmael, unable to stop thinking about Hatsue.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how several characters in the movie hesitate before acting and the consequences of the delays and what factors led them to decide the way they do. Families could also talk about this style of story-telling. Is it supposed to represent the internal thoughts of the characters or is there some sort of narrator putting together the story like a jigsaw puzzle? And families could also talk about the Japanese internment, one of the most shameful episodes in this country's history, and about the half-century effort it took to get an apology and a small payment for damages.
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Not worth watching
If you have read the book, you would get an idea of how corrupt the movie would be. However, the story according to the book was much better than the story according to the movie. The movie was hard to follow, and if I hadn't of read the book, I would not have gotten it. It was dark, seductive, and there was no redeeming qualities, other than the fact that it opposed racism.
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| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | Scott Hicks |
| Cast: | Ethan Hawke, James Cromwell, Youki Kudoh |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 127 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 7, 2000 |
| DVD release date: | May 30, 2000 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | disturbing images, sensuality and brief strong language |
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