Finally Norwegian Wood

We had to wait a long time to see Norwegian Wood in the cinema, and YES yesterday was the big day to see this beautiful story on screen.

With the beautiful stage setting, it was like traveling back in time, into the sixties: big rotary telephones, huge sunglasses, brownish-orange interior, beautiful music by the Beatles...Some shots where beautifully made (shots outside), it really emphasized the emotions/feelings of one person, at that particular moment.

Kenichi Matsuyama (Watanabe) has the leading role in the story and he did it very well. I've seen other films with Kenichi, and I was impressed by his acting skills. I remember him as a cute boy in Nana, and now he's all grown up!

Rinko Kikuchi also played the role (Naoko, girlfriend of Watanabe) very very good, that you almost feel like you're sorry for Naoko's sadness. (By the way, last Wednesday, she turned 30! Happy B-day!)


Now I have seen Norwegian Wood I definitely want to read the book. Sometimes I had the feeling that the film moved too fast into some scenes, yet other scenes were unnecessary long. This is quite understandable, because the film itself lasted 133 minutes. Too much to tell, unfortunately not enough time to film everything. A good reason the read the book, to get more into the story and the characters.

Don't expect a typical 'Hollywood-drama-movie' where one dramatic happening, directy follows another dramatic event. Norwegian Wood is a 'quiet drama with much conversation'.