WIT Life #187: Norwegian Wood
Events, Film, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers 
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
This week I attended the Japan Society’s member screening of Norwegian Wood, the film version of this Haruki Murakami novel. I haven’t read the book, but the movie was quite moving. It takes place in the late 1960’s with student riots as a backdrop. It is a love story centering on the university student Toru Watanabe, who is torn between his first love from his hometown, Naoko, and a new women he meets at school, Midori. His relationship with Naoko is complicated as their mutual best friend (and Naoko’s boyfriend) committed suicide when they were in high school. They share this bond, but it is also the source of Naoko’s mental instability. Midori is a bit of a brighter character, though her life has been overshadowed by family members’ untimely deaths. The film is quite tender in its exploration of these relationships and the direction Toru’s future will take.
The movie was made in 2010 by the French-Vietnamese director Anh Hung Tran, who was on hand at the screening along with Rinko Kikuchi who plays Naoko (pictured above with Kenichi Matsuyama who plays Toru). They offered some behind the scenes stories, such as how Tran didn’t see Kikuchi as being right for the role but was overcome by her persuasion and powerful audition. One poignant anecdote he shared was of a night when Kikuchi asked him, “Why is it that when I cry during a scene, it feels more real than when I cry in real life?” to which he answered, “Because you are an artist. And to an artist, expression is more real than experience.” This exchange captures Kikuchi’s artistic process and offers insight into her poetic performance. I had the opportunity to interview her the following day, and found her to be both down to earth and impressive in her approach to the craft.
Norwegian Wood will be coming to the IFC Center on January 6, and my Kikuchi article will be in the February issue of Chopsticks magazine so keep your eyes peeled!
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