Warm Water Under A Red Bridge

Warm Water Under A Red Bridge (2001) is one of Shohei Imamura's last films, it was made when he was 75. His later phase of film making is much quirkier than the films he made in his prime. This film reunites Imamura with Koji Yakusho and Misa Shimizu from his previous success and Palm D'Or winner The Eel. Thematically it is a continuation of themes Imamura has pursued throughout his career with a focus on the animal and primal aspects of humanity, which always includes sexuality. He is critical of the artificial structures of society that limit humanity. Yousuke (Yakusho) is a salaryman who has been restructured with a wife and son living in  another town that are never seen. His philosopher homeless friend send him on a search for a treasure in a house near a red bridge on the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa (also the setting for Hirokazu Kore-eda's stunning debut Marobosi) sets him a on a spiritual journey of sorts. The metaphorical laden condition of the woman, Saeko (Shimizu), that lives there with her senile grandmother is a bit obvious-when she gets full of water she needs to release through sexual intercourse-which Imamura presents as a natural and life giving process. Yousuke is obsessed by the woman and decides to stay, taking the earth connecting profession of fisherman and deals with an eccentric cast of characters as he takes possession of a more natural life and leaves his old one behind as his wife divorces him long distance. There are some suspect dream sequences and special effects that add a sense of the contrived, thus is it fantastical on several levels which distract the viewer from the central message. This film can also be seen as minor Imamura, a Imamura who is past his prime, but still has some interesting things to say about humanity.