Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (Akai Hashi No Shita Noo Nurui Mizu) (2002)
82%RT Audience Score: 76%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 2 nominations
Warm Water Under a Red Bridge is a cinematic masterpiece that explores the complexities of human relationships and the strange ways in which fate can bring two people together. Imamura’s use of humor and satire adds a delightful layer to the film, making it a charming and quirky experience. The central gimmick of the film, which could have easily been a reject from Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, is instead a brilliant and outrageous addition that elevates the film to new heights. Imamura’s ode to the enduring strengths of women is a deep and meaningful film that also manages to be the best sex comedy about environmental pollution ever made. Overall, Warm Water Under a Red Bridge is a sweet and enthusiastic embrace of our biology and chemistry, and a delicious and salacious celebration of sexuality and individuality.
Warm Water Under a Red Bridge is a quirky and charming film that celebrates the strength of women and the strange ways that life works. It’s like a romantic fable with mythical and sexual overtones, but with a Monty Python-esque central gimmick that will leave you laughing and scratching your head at the same time. The film is a sweet and enthusiastic embrace of our biology and chemistry, and a delicious and salacious celebration of sexuality and individuality. It’s a must-watch for anyone who wants to irrigate their soul and have a good laugh at the same time.
Production Company(ies)
Kennedy Miller Productions,
Distributor
Cowboy Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Japan
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2001
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 59m
-
Language(s):Japanese
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 3, 2002 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2005
Genre(s)
Fantasy/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baishô, Mansaku Fuwa, Isao Natsuyagi, Yukiya Kitamura, directed by Shôhei Imamura, written by Shôhei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan, Motofumi Tomikawa, Yo Henmi, Fantasy, Romance, Drama, box office gross $62.0K, Cowboy Pictures, MPAA rating, reviewed by Marta Barber, Roger Ebert, Michael Wilmington, Mark Rahner, Ella Taylor, Janice Page, Yasser Medina, Betsy Bozdech, Emanuel Levy, Daniel Kasman, Dan Jardine, starring Kôji Yakusho as Yosuke Sasano, Misa Shimizu as Saeko Aizawa, Mitsuko Baishô as Mitsu Aizawa, Mansaku Fuwa as Gen, Isao Natsuyagi as Masayuki Uomi, Yukiya Kitamura as Shintaro Uomi, Hisa Iino produced
Worldwide gross: $453,754
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $764,706
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,650
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 83,392
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Misa Shimizu – Saeko Aizawa
Mitsuko Baishô – Mitsu Aizawa
Mansaku Fuwa – Gen
Isao Natsuyagi – Masayuki Uomi
Yukiya Kitamura – Shintaro Uomi
Director(s)
Shôhei Imamura
Writer(s)
Shôhei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan, Motofumi Tomikawa, Yo Henmi
Producer(s)
Hisa Iino
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (9)
There’s much tongue in cheek in the film and there’s no doubt the filmmaker is having fun with it all.
October 25, 2002 | Rating: 3/4
Marta Barber
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Seeing it as a Westerner is an enlightening, even liberating, experience.
September 27, 2002 | Rating: 3/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
Like its bizarre heroine, it irrigates our souls.
September 26, 2002 | Rating: 3/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
A charming, quirky and leisurely paced Scottish comedy — except with an outrageous central gimmick that could have been a reject from Monty Python’s Meaning of Life.
September 6, 2002 | Rating: 2.5/4
Mark Rahner
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Imamura has said that Warm Water Under a Red Bridge is a poem to the enduring strengths of women. It may also be the best sex comedy about environmental pollution ever made.
July 18, 2002
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly
TOP CRITIC
A deep and meaningful film.
June 28, 2002 | Rating: 3/4
Janice Page
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
It is an Imamura drama as warm as hot spring water. [Full review in Spanish]
September 15, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
As a look at the strange ways that life works and how fate can bring two people together, it’s an appealing, engaging film.
November 6, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4
Betsy Bozdech
DVDJournal.com
This romantic fable, starring again the Eel’s central couple, with strong meythical and sexual overtones, represents one of the Japanese master’s lightest films.
October 31, 2006 | Rating: B
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
August 7, 2004 | Rating: B
Daniel Kasman
d+kaz. intelligent movie reviews
A sweet and enthusiastic embrace of our biology and chemistry, and a delicious and salacious celebration of sexuality and individuality.
July 21, 2004 | Rating: 82/100
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide
Imamura’s embrace of the cental characters’ peculiar habits, predilections and appetites is his delicious and salacious way of celebrating their sexuality and individuality.
June 27, 2004 | Rating: 82/100
Dan Jardine
Cinemania…
Plot
A Tokyo businessman, unemployed after his company goes bankrupt, travels to a fishing village to search for a hidden treasure, but encounters a mysterious woman who complicates his quest in the whimsical and engaging sex comedy, Warm Water Under a Red Bridge.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Koji Yakusho stars as a Tokyo businessman in Warm Water Under a Red Bridge.
Shôhei-Imamura.jpg
