Is all that we see or seem
But but a dream within a dream?
- Edgar Allen Poe
The human mind loves to try to bringorder to chaos. That is why readers aredrawn to classic detective fiction like that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christiewhere we marvel at the ability of Sherlock Holmes or Hercules Poirot to solve themystery conclusively by bringing together threads of clues and witnesstestimonies. The modern detective;however, will tell you that such eyewitness testimony is often not veryreliable. Not only can it be coloured byprejudice, but the human mind can sometimes play tricks on us.
The first sign in Sway (ゆれる, 2006) thatTakeru Hayakawa (Joe Odagiri) is nota reliable witness comes when he returns to his home town for his mother’sfuneral. The self-anointed black sheep of the Hayakawa family, Takeru bargeslate into the funeral services dressed head to toe in red, inciting his father(Masatō Ibu) into a rage over hislack of filial piety. The root of thebad feeling appears to be Takeru’s decision to reject joining the familybusiness – a non-nondescript gas station – to become a big shot photographer inTokyo. Yet, Isamu Hayakawa’s extremereaction to his son suggests the strife runs even deeper into the family’shistory.
The older brother Minoru (Teruyuki Kagawa), tries to bridge theyawning chasm between them by giving Takeru their mother’s Fujicascopeprojector and old 8mm home movies she took when they were little. One of the 8mm reels contains footage of afamily outing to Hasumi Gorge, where Minoru recalls fondly fishing there withtheir father. Takeru does not rememberever going to the gorge and Minoru teases him, telling Takeru propheticallythat he has selective memory made cloudy by the Tokyo smog.
The camaraderie between the brothers sours when Takeru decides to seduce his old girlfriend Chieko Kawabata(Yōko Maki). Chieko has been working forthe Hayakawas since the company she used to work for went under. She had a friendly, flirtatious relationshipwith Minoru and he’d been hoping she might take a fancy to him. Chieko joins the brothers on a trip to visitHasumi Gorge, and her shocking sudden death at the old suspension bridge is themystery that sets into motion the remainder of the film. However, whether or not Minoru was responsible for Chieko's death is really just a red herring. The true question is whether or not this tragedy will bring the brothers closer together or tear their tenuous relationship apart forever.
Director Miwa Nishikawa has a deft hand for creating dramatic tension in herscreenplays. Whereas the master ofsuspense, Alfred Hitchcock, wouldcreate it by showing the audience more than what the characters know, Nishikawacreates suspense by withdrawing visual information from us. We only see as much of the events on that fatefulday as Takeru can remember, and we are drawn into his struggle to find a way tohelp his brother avoid being sentenced to prison for murder while remainingtrue to himself. We share Takeru’sfrustration at not knowing all the details of what led to Chieko falling fromthe bridge.
Sway is anextraordinary film which at turns recalls the themes of Akira Kurosawa’s Rashōmon(1950), the mysterious beauty of PeterGreenaway’s Picnic at Hanging Rock(1975), and the withholding of information narrative structure of Atom Egoyan’s Exotica (1994). The coloursin Sway are muted, but beautifullydone and like Hitchcock and Kurosawa one has the impression that every frameof the film was carefully composed ahead of the filming. It’s the type of film one needs to watch morethan once in order to appreciate the subtle nuances of expression and meaning.
Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012
The Japanese DVD release of Sway hasexcellent English subtitles for the feature, no subs for the extras. The film was so well received at festivalsthat it also got a US release.
Directed and Written by MiwaNishikawa
Cinematography by Hiroshi Takase
Original Music by the Cauliflowers
Cast
Joe Odagiri as Takeru Hayakawa
Teruyuki Kagawa as Minoru Hayakawa
Masatō Ibu as Isamu Hayakawa
Hirofumi Arai as Yohei Okajima
Yōko Maki asChieko Kawabata
