Warm Water Under a Red Bridge
Home Vision Entertainment, $29.95 “Devote yourself to lechery,” and “throw yourself into lasciviousness”: These are the dictums of a homeless philosopher in Warm Water Under a Red Bridge, the 2001 film from two-time Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, Japanese director Shohei Imamura (The Ballad of Narayama, The Eel). A solution for those of us bored with American gusher porn, this adaptation of Yo Henmi’s novel of the same name is a humorous salute to the female orgasm. In a peculiar tone sure to furrow brows as only Japanese pop culture can, the film’s central conceit revolves around Saeko (Misa Shimizu) and her impressive ejaculate, which fills the rivers of her village and breathes life into the local fishing industry. Meanwhile, corporate and other ladders leading nowhere have left a down-on-his-luck businessman named Yosuke (Koji Yakusho) searching for something more. He stumbles into town in search of a lost gold Buddha treasure and finds instead Saeko. Her condition gives Yosuke pause to find meaning in the trivialities of his life. Although Saeko’s shame is evident in her muted smile and narrow footsteps, her sexual craving proves much more potent, and Yosuke becomes ensnared by Saeko’s “venting” and wallows whimsically in her beautiful mess. Imamura rejects the geisha-girl stereotype with another depiction of a conflicted yet powerful female character, suggesting ultimately that sexual essence is the solid foundation of feminine might. Imamura’s erotic-comic fusion may yield confused audience reactions, however. To giggle or to readjust? Although confusing at times, Warm Water Under a Red Bridge is worth watching for the spectacle of its oddities. In their charmingly bizarre manner, Imamura and his cast of quirky creatures remind us that a woman in heat is a beautiful thing.This article appears in July 18 • 2003.