A Bride for Rip Van Winkle

Name: A Bride for Rip Van Winkle
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Released: November 10, 2017
Duration: 179 min
Rating: 56
Cast: Cocco, Gô Ayano, Gô Jibiki, Haru Kuroki, Masahiro Noguchi

2017

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Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

Toei Company | Release Date: November 10, 2017 | Not Rated

Starring: Cocco, Gô Ayano, Gô Jibiki, Haru Kuroki, Masahiro Noguchi, Nana Natsume, Sôkô Wada, Tomoko Mariya, Tôru Nomaguchi, Yugo Saso

Summary: Nanami is an apathetic, part-time junior high school teacher, whose only solace comes from connecting with others on “Planet,” a new social network service. One day, a young man named Tetsuya messages her and asks to meet in person. The two begin dating and quickly become engaged. When Tetsuya begs Nanami to increase her guest list for theNanami is an apathetic, part-time junior high school teacher, whose only solace comes from connecting with others on “Planet,” a new social network service. One day, a young man named Tetsuya messages her and asks to meet in person. The two begin dating and quickly become engaged. When Tetsuya begs Nanami to increase her guest list for the wedding, Nanami reaches out to online-friend, Amuro, a self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades, who hires actors to play Nanami’s guests on her big day. A few weeks following the ceremony, Tetsuya’s mother confronts Nanami with allegations of lying and cheating. Heartbroken and despondent, Nanami checks herself into a hotel and manages to get hired there as a maid. One day, Amuro offers Nanami a house-keeping job in an old mansion, whose sole resident’s infectious spirit helps Nanami to open her heart. However, Nanami soon realizes that Amuro, the mansion, and its occupant aren’t what they seem – and even dreams have limits.… Expand

Director: Shunji Iwai

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Romance

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 179 min

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Critic Reviews

Sarah Ward

Nov 9, 2017

Whether quietly watching Nanami gain her sense of self scene-by-scene, or plunging into more dramatic territory whenever Amuro or Mashiro appear, the end result slowly builds, grows and blossoms into an astute, insightful, multi-layered character study. Read full review

Maggie Lee

Nov 9, 2017

Artfully subverting the spirit of such soulful, diaphanous romances as “Love Letter” and “Hana and Alice” from earlier in his own career, Iwai exposes the desperation and deceit involved in the search for love. Read full review

Robert Abele

Nov 9, 2017

Overlong yet alluring. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Simon Abrams

Nov 10, 2017

I was also so disturbed by this film that I felt I had to rewatch certain scenes just to confirm that the emotional exhaustion I experienced while watching it wasn't just a personal preference, but rather a problem I had with what Iwai and his collaborators do in the film. Read full review

Elizabeth Kerr

Nov 9, 2017

The three-hour runtime seems justified when Iwai lets his characters fragile, burgeoning relationships develop at a leisurely pace and revel in the little details. At other times the pic is simply self-indulgent, allowing scenes to slip from emotionally naked to embarrassingly overwrought in a flash. Iwai served as his own editor and it shows. Read full review

Diego Semerene

Nov 7, 2017

The film is an interminable saga full of soap-operatic plot twists involving quickly broken marriages, sexual assault, a secret porn career, terminal illness, and a quasi lesbian love affair. Read full review

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JLuis_001

Feb 18, 2023

Exhausting. This film is incredibly exhausting.
Its dramatic charge is a pulsating entity that, along with its three-hour running time, forces you into a downward spiral of gloom and depression.
And I say it's a pulsating entity because the film constantly evolves despite being completelyExhausting. This film is incredibly exhausting.
Its dramatic charge is a pulsating entity that, along with its three-hour running time, forces you into a downward spiral of gloom and depression.

And I say it's a pulsating entity because the film constantly evolves despite being completely focused on its main character. What happens in the first hour couldn't be more different from what happens in the last one, and yet they are completely linked tonally and thematically, which, from what I've read and seen, is part of the existential reality of what it's like to live in Japan.

A Bride for Rip Van Winkle is not an experimental film or one that will break your head with a convoluted plot, but it does take its toll emotionally because its entire journey is built precisely for that.

It's not an inviting film for any viewer, but even with certain details, I think it's an experience that any serious cinephile should watch.

***There are two other cuts of this film. One is two hours and the other is four, although apparently the three-hour cut is the director's favorite. Still I'm quite curious and interested to see the other two.… Expand

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