Brimming with magical realism, sensuality, and humor, the final film by revered filmmaker Shohei Imamura tells the story of Yosuke Sasano (Koji Yakusho), an unemployed salaryman who arrives in a remote fishing village following a rumor of hidden treasure. Instead, he meets Saeko Aizawa (Misa Shimizu), a charming and unusual woman with a unique problem: a well of warm water inside of her longing for release. Saeko faces both shame and adoration for her condition, which the local anglers believe feeds the river and its fish. Intrigued and enamored, Yosuke decides to take up a new life as a fisherman. Through their passionate affair, Imamura paints a picture of longing, fantasy and the search for true happiness in the most unexpected of places.

Premiering in Cannes where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or, WARM WATER UNDER A RED BRIDGE is an “enlightening, even liberating, experience” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) that offers a “charmingly bizarre slice of magic realism” (BBC).

“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.” –LA Weekly

DIRECTED BY SHOHEI IMAMURA
JAPAN | 2001 | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES