Still the Water

{{short description|2014 film}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Still the Water

| image = Still the Water poster.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Naomi Kawase

| producer = Rémi Burah
Takehiko Aoki
Masamichi Sawada
Naomi Kawase

| writer = Naomi Kawase

| starring = Nijirō Murakami
Jun Yoshinaga

| music = Hasiken

| cinematography =

| editing = Tina Baz

| distributor = Asmik Ace

| released = {{film date|2014|5|20|Cannes|2014|7|26|Japan|df=yes}}

| runtime = 110 minutes

| country = Japan

| language = Japanese

}}

{{Nihongo|Still the Water|2つ目の窓|Futatsume no Mado}} is a 2014 Japanese romance film written and directed by Naomi Kawase. It was filmed in the scenic nature of Amami City in Kagoshima Prefecture in 2013.{{cite web|url=http://amamishimbun.co.jp/index.php?QBlog-20131118-2|title=Lecture on cinematography in Amami by director Kawase|publisher=Amami Online|date=20 May 2014|language=Japanese|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220202/http://amamishimbun.co.jp/index.php?QBlog-20131118-2|archive-date=20 May 2014}} The score was composed by singer-songwriter Hasiken.{{cite web|url=http://www.hasiken.com/news/|title=News, HASIKEN official|publisher=Hasiken|date=20 May 2014|language=Japanese}}

Still the Water was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/article/60533.html |title=2014 Official Selection |access-date=17 April 2014 |work=Cannes}} Describing the film as her "masterpiece", Kawase said it was deserving of the Palme d'Or. "This is the first time that I have said this about a film," the writer-director said, "After the Camera d'Or and the Grand Prix, there is nothing I want more than the Palme d'Or. I have my eyes on nothing else."{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/naomi-kawase-masterpiece-worth-palme-dor-020526666.html|title=Naomi Kawase: 'masterpiece' worth the Palme D'Or|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=10 May 2014}}

Cast

Reception

Still the Water has an approval rating of 52% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews, and an average rating of 5.7/10.{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/still_the_water | title=Still the Water | Rotten Tomatoes | website=Rotten Tomatoes }} Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/still-the-water?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c | title=Still the Water | website=Metacritic }}

Reviewing it at Cannes, Nikola Grozdanovic at Indiewire gave it a B+, stating that {{"'}}Still The Water' is a spectacle for the senses, which, if there is any justice, will be remembered as one of the greater films of the competition."{{cite web|last1=Grozdanovic|first1=Nikola|title=Cannes Review: Naomi Kawase's 'Still The Water' Is A Spectacle For The Senses|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/cannes-review-naomi-kawases-still-the-water-is-a-spectacle-for-the-senses-20140520|website=Indiewire|date=20 May 2014 |access-date=5 June 2014}} In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw gave it 3 out of 5 stars and stated, "Kawase's film is sometimes beautiful and moving but I couldn't help occasionally finding it a little contrived and self-conscious."{{cite news|last1=Bradshaw|first1=Peter|title=Cannes 2014 review: Still the Water – come on in, the daughter's lovely|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/may/20/still-the-water-cannes-review-2014|access-date=5 June 2014|work=The Guardian|date=20 May 2014}} In Film Business Asia, Derek Elley gave the film a rating of 2 out of 10, calling it "more empty, pretentious ramblings from self-styled auteur Kawase Naomi".{{cite web |url= http://www.filmbiz.asia/reviews/still-the-water|title= Still the Water |author= Derek Elley|date=21 May 2014|access-date=1 June 2014|work= Film Business Asia}}

References

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