The Japanese Wife: Spoiled My Day

Previous Thursday was the same hectic day at the hospital as usual. But still it was different as we (Sangeeta and me) had planned to go out for a movie after a long while and at the present time of mass flops hitting the box office we both unanimously fell for the 4 starred The Japanese Wife. So everything was decided – Thursday… The Japanese Wife… Nandan… 4:15 pm. But who are we to decide?! The scissors, scalpels, blood and catheter bound me firm and the episiotomy, caesarean and normal deliveries held Sangeeta tight. So it was just 15 minutes left for the reels to roll when we were inside a cab. We were cursing everything at our sight except the ‘it’s gonna rain’ type of breeze and the gradual tinting of the blinding blaze outside. Finally it was when we were over the A J C Bose road flyover that we heard the most beautiful sound of those big rain drops falling on the cab’s roof and within a couple of minutes the road turned more black, the trees looked more green and the driver was forced to turn on the wiper. When we reached Nandan it was pouring hard and we were already running 3 minutes late for the movie. So both of us took that record breaking run to the ticket counter and then entered the hall completely drenched. Initially I couldn’t see anything as my specs turned misty but after I wiped it on the seat, aaaahhhh! It was river Matla splashing on its bank and someone was reading out a letter in Benglish. I reclined a bit more on my seat, held Sangeeta’s hand and said  to the director, Aparna Sen that she has got the following 90 mins to make me happy. I was all ready for the movie.

Snehomoy (Rahul Bose) is a very simple guy. After his parent’s death he was brought up by his mashi (Mousumi Chatterjee). He had his higher education in Kolkata and is now working as a maths teacher at a school in his native village of Sundarban. Snehomoy is basically a loner. He is shy and introvert, but he has a pen friend called Miyagi (Chigasu Tataku) who is a Japanese lady with whom Snehomoy talks his heart out. On the other hand Miyagi also finds Senomoy (as she calls him) a good friend and as days passed their friendship also grows stronger. It is through letters that Snehomoy tells Miyagi how by taking tuitions he bears the postal charges and Miyagi describes her family and her work. The letters are full of mistakes but still they write.

The film starts with the arrival of a large box on post with Snehomoy’s name on it. Everyone in the village are excited seeing the package. When Snehomoy returns home and opens the carton he find it  filled with kites of different shapes and colours, it’s a gift from Miyagi on their 15th anniversary. Snehomoy has streaks of white hairs now. His mind likes to trail of to the past. Snehomoy reminisces how they used to send small gifts and souvenirs like dry champa flowers or a yellow sari. He remembers how 15 years back both of them got married through few words of a letter and a silver ring with Miyagi’s name engraved on it and a pair of conch – shell bangles that Snehomoy send Miyagi.

The film proceeds further. It is hardly 3 to 4 times that Snehomoy has called Miyagi, but every time their conversations ended incomplete. For once Snehomoy wants to go to see Miyagi but he is unable to gather the expenses for that and Miyagi can’t come to Sundarban leaving her sick mother alone. So the couple have to quench their love through letters and for Snehomoy, sometimes by masturbating on a tied boat on river Matla. But there”s always some evil waiting to make one’s life miserable. The story of Snehomoy and Miyagi is olso not an exception. So Miyagi falls under the clutches of cancer and  Snehomoy becomes bed ridden with pneumonia.Finally comes the rainy night with thunder rumbling ominously and the sky filling with  jagg-edged lightnings when Snehomoy fails to live anymore.The film ends with the scene where we see a boat bringing a lady to the bank of Matla. She is draped in a traditional white saree, her head shaved. Finally the lady comes to Snehomoy’s place and the very room which still bear the signs of  love of Snehomoy and Miyagi… and we know who the lady is!

As a story the plot of The Japanese Wife is not completely a trash, though a bit unrealistic. But throughout the film something was missing. Apart from showing the eternal love knowing no barriers of caste, creed and place the director has also tried to shade the monotony by inserting a kite fight and a character Sandhya (Raima Sen), god knows from where? There was background sound score but it was not worth hitting the tympanic membrane to leave its impact and finally the make up of Rahul Bose as aged Snehomoy was nauseating. It only proved that few streaks of grey hairs and a baggy half shirt is not enough to make a young man look old. As a whole the essence of a good movie was totally missing. The presentation was like eating damp biscuits!

Sangeeta and me were both relieved seeing the big  ‘the end’ on the big screen. It took us two plates of momos, two cups of hot chai and a dinner at Hongkong Express to push that nausea of seeing a bad movie down our stomach to the intestines to the colon and finally… flushhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Tagged as: Movie, Movie Review