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The Mourning Forest

Play trailer The Mourning Forest 2007 1h 37m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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71% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A caretaker and a patient bond after becoming lost.

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Russell Edwards Variety Yarn about a young carer who follows an elderly patient into the forest, strives for the mythic, but ambition is undercut by its conveniently underarticulated affectations. May 29, 2007 Full Review Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse Art-house fans will love the film, though, as its focus on visual beauty and the meaningfulness of its central theme deems the aforementioned "flaws", practically irrelevant. Apr 13, 2020 Full Review Jennie Kermode Eye for Film The film is quiet, even gentle in its pacing, but has a great deal to say. Rated: 4/5 Aug 24, 2017 Full Review Jeremy Heilman MovieMartyr.com Ultimately, The Mourning Forest is not so much flawed as it is unable to create a very powerful impression. Rated: 56/100 Jan 10, 2008 Full Review Jon Popick Planet S Magazine Beautifully photographed, but Uda steals the show as Shigeki. Sep 13, 2007 Full Review Scott Foundas L.A. Weekly A film marked by lovely moments but which falls short of the lyrical heights to which it aspires. May 31, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (84) audience reviews
Audience Member Actually I watch a lot of "boring" movies and usually I like it but this one ... no idea how anyone can recommend it as there is hardly anything there, just two people aimlessly wandering in a forest. Okay you could say there is something hidden deep in the movie but I guess the average joe wouldn't see that hidden whatever XD If it would have at least had some kind of story but for me it was just nothing. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????NHK???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautiful with very touching moments, but way too long and focuses too less on the characters to live up to the expectations. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Dos semanas sin cumplir mis funciones de cronista!!! Como bien dice Fementido : "Cuando el Dr. X no da senyales de vida algo esta planeando..." De clausura y concentracion autoimpuesta buscando el sentido de la vida pero a pesar de ello todavia con tiempo para ver dos de las peliculas japonesas que mas han dado que hablar en los ultimos meses. Almenos en Europa porque en Japon tampoco es que se hable mucho de cine... La primera de ellas es "Paprika". No, la de los burdeles no....guarretes! Paprika es la ultima pelicula de animacion de Satoshi Kon, director que si no os suena de nada tampoco me extranya porque yo tuve que buscar en el wikipedia antes de saber que habia dirigido "Perfect Blue" o "Tokyo Godfathers" (de las que ya tambien reconozco que no he visto!) y que habia empezado su carrera profesional en el estudio de Katsuhiro Otomo (este, mira por donde si que lo conozco! :D ). [img]http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4606/paprikabt0.jpg[/img] [i]Aqui esta paprika! No, no es italiana!!![/i] Precisamente el estilo de la pelicula, la musica y el fondo argumental concuerdan con las del maestro Otomo y en terminos generales con una pelicula de animacion japonesa que alcanza la fama en Europa a partir de sus festivales de cine. Paprika da una vez mas con el macguffin del limite de la ciencia y la etica. No se si en Europa la religion catolica nos da garantias en cuanto a este debate o es que nunca llegamos a pensar que seremos capaces de desarrollar la tecnologia hasta el punto que la moral pueda quedar en entredicho... Los japoneses (almenos en muchos de sus animes mas celebrados) siguen advirtiendo que la ciencia la pueden llevar a limites insospechados y, como sucede en Paprika, hay barreras que debemos levantar antes de que sea demasiado tarde. Paprika cuenta con escenas de impacto y a ratos, la musica logra sumarse a la fiesta multicolor para mayor deleite de nuestros sentidos. Interesante es especialmente el compositor de la musica. Un tal Susumu Hirasawa que recientemente se ha erigido como activista anti-americano y que ofrece sus composiciones gratis por internet en favor de la causa. Paprika no supera a Akira pero a los que disfrutaron de ella y les gusta fardar de estar a la ultima en cuanto a anime deberian hacer los deberes y ver la paranoia visual y mental que ofrece Paprika. La segunda pelicula es "mogari no mori". Ganadora de Cannes y con una mujer como directora. Esta pelicula tambien cumple muchos de los topicos para una pelicula con personas. Silencios, planos largos y naturaleza. [img]http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/4101/dsc01835fk4.jpg[/img] [i]Uno de los bosques de Nara en el que me perdi hace unos meses!![/i] El bosque de la pelicula lo conozco bien y eso me animo a dar el paso para verla. Los bosques de Nara son de lo mejor que he visto en este pais. La directora tambien lo sabe ya que ha vivido siempre cerca de ellos. La relacion de Japon y sus bosques es especial y algun dia hablare con calma sobre ello. Leyendas, dioses, vida y muerte se confunden dentro del bosque japones y el viaje que emprende involuntariamente una asistenta de una residencia de ancianos y el anciano que debe cuidar resulta interesante aunque no apto para cualquier noche que no sepas que poner antes de ir a dormir. Verla con calma y despues de levantarse es quizas mejor opcion. La falta de subtitulos tampoco me ayudaron mucho que digamos... LO MEJOR : El cine japones ha despuntado algo en los ultimos meses y hay algunas ofertas interesantes para los proximos meses. LO PEOR : Takashi Miike esta filmando un japo-western con Quentin Tarantino....sic!! :( Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member [b]Mogari no Mori (JP, 2007)[/b] I watched this movie last year actually. Sounds longer ago than it actually has been, I saw it namely in December 2008 in a small , cousy, theather named: "Filmmuseum" in Amsterdam. To me, this movie is as Japanese as it it gets. So many elements which are rooted in the Japanese soul, defining what's Japan/Japanese are portayed in this film very beautifully. Explaining to you just what these elements are is a task I will not even dare try to fulfill. You see, the problem is that I'm not Japanese either, so me having you to explain this would not only fall short in every way but would also prove of a misfitting arrogance from my side. But anyway, maybe that this [i]Japaneseness [/i]cannot be put into words by anyone, maybe not even by the Japanese themselves. "Saying without words" is just one aspect of a matter so complex..., maybe it is "humanity" in a very essential manner...but like I say...I do not know either nor will I ever know... ..... Humanity , anyhow, is , I think, the overlapping theme of this movie. Humanity, compassion, warmth and love. Real love: strong , all absorbing and everlasting like mother nature herself. Go see this movie, it's brilliant. Big praises for director Naomi Kawase. [b]Verdict: 9/10. Fascinating, beautifull and emotionally touching. [/b] [size=1]Frame of the two main characters of this movie: Shigeki Uda (left) and Machiko Ono. The two oppsose yet complete eich other strongly. Brilliant acting.[/size] [img]http://www.dvdasian.com/images/synopsis_022008/31208.ss3.JPG[/img] Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Preciosa. Me dio la lloradera Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Mourning Forest

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A caretaker and a patient bond after becoming lost.
Director
Naomi Kawase
Producer
Naomi Kawase, Hengameh Panahi
Screenwriter
Naomi Kawase
Production Co
Kumie, Inc., Celluloid Dreams
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Runtime
1h 37m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)