Still the Water (2014) - full transcript

The police say to stay back.

Is it a tourist?

I wonder what happened.

The police are here.

What do you think?

The waves are so high.

Especially with the typhoon coming.

He wasn't breathing
when they found him.

So they tried CPR.

Is this a criminal case?
Or an accident?

An accident?



It was probably an accident.

There aren't many crimes here.

But there are many accidents
on the island.

I wonder what happened.

There aren't many crimes
on the island.

Yesterday,

I was waiting for you.

Don't look at me like that.

Morning!

Wait right there! Fix your shirt!

Morning!

Wait! Tuck in your shirt!

Was it a drowning?

- It wasn't an accident.
- It wasn't a drowning?



There are a lot of surfers.

A surfing accident?

But they say it was a naked man.

The morning greeting!

Stand up straight.

To the left of your desk.

All right, good.

Good morning, teacher!

Good morning.

Earlier this morning,

a police officer came to the school.

It seems that a corpse was found
on the Yoan beach.

We don't know yet
if it was an accident or foul play.

They're investigating now.

Swimming is prohibited
for the duration of the investigation.

Please stay away from the site.

Don't go have a look,
out of curiosity.

I'm not saying you can't have fun,

but please be careful.

Kaito: I'm off to work.
Mother

Hello?

Did you eat?

I'll be late tonight.
Will you be OK?

I cooked some rice.

There's curry in the fridge,
so warm it up.

Are you there?

I've got to get back to work.

Uncle Kame!

Is that Kyoko?

How are you?

I'm good.

Great.

You went in the sea again,

with your clothes on?

What are you doing?

Aren't you afraid?

I'm not afraid.

Swimming is prohibited.

See you later, Uncle Kame.

Heading home?

You have your bike?

Give me a ride.

What is it?

'Cause I'm wet?

I don't care.

You don't have to.

I know.

Thank you.

Hello!

Thanks.

I'll change. Wait for me in the café.

I'm home.

Thanks for waiting.

- I'm home.
- Hi.

Eat something?

- How about some pasta?
- Sure.

With lots of octopus.

A large portion for Kaito.

Gotcha!

He could skip the wink.

My mother's not doing well.

The doctor told us the other day.

Why is it that people
are born and die?

I don't know.

There's no reason.

But your mother is a shaman, right?

Yes, she is.

Aren't shamans like gods?

She won't die.

Here you go.

The fishing was great yesterday.

Take some fish home with you.

Here you go.

Father, is Mother going to die?

Maybe.

The doctor said she's going to die.

As with serenity,

so with sorrow.

Neither one

can be measured.

I myself will enter

to observe

the depths of the heart.

As long as this world,
as long as bodies and countries exist,

from every corner of the earth,

in every realm,

allow me, this child of god,

to see and overlook nothing.

Gods are gods, men are men.

Whosoever it is,

I will serve them.

I thank you.

I am trying...

but I cannot understand
my mother's suffering.

After she dies, I can't see her.

I can't feel her warmth.

That's right.

It's just as you say.
Because there is no body.

That's exactly as you say,
it's true.

But her thoughts remain in this world.

Her thoughts exist here.

Your mother's thoughts
fill up the world.

So...

there's no physical warmth,
but there's the warmth of the heart.

The warmth of the heart

is still there inside your heart.

That's not enough.

Sorry.

You were here?

How are you feeling?

It won't be long now.

I want to go home.

This morning,

I went over...

to your shrine.

And there,

I was surprised to find
the chief shaman from Sani.

You went to the shrine?

Really?

I'm sorry.

You must have hated it,

that your mother was a shaman.

It used to bother me.

As a shaman, I'm on the threshold

between the gods and humans.

So for me, dying

is not at all frightening.

Because I know...

the place where the gods are.

I'm not afraid.

Your mother's life...

is already

and always will be

intertwined with your life.

It's no longer my life alone.

It's always intertwined with your life.

And when you give birth to someone,

when you have a baby,
it will be intertwined too.

That's why I'm not afraid.

It's all right.

They say, in the mainland,

when people get sick,

they still want to live
as long as possible.

Can you imagine?

Why are you here?

Are you OK?

Let's go.

You know something.

About what?

About that corpse found in the water.

I don't know anything.

I won't tell anyone.

I said I don't know.

- You really don't know?
- I don't, I told you.

Why don't you try surfing?

My father said
you should get in the sea.

The sea is scary.

The sea...

it's alive.

I'm alive, too.

My father told me,

when you're surfing...

he's only felt this rarely,

but there are moments

when you feel like
you become one with the sea.

It's way too big for that.

I thought that's like sex.

Sex!

Let's go.

G'night.

Kaito...

I love you.

Thanks.

And you?

I love you.

Good night.

See you tomorrow.

Kaito!

Are you all right?

Mom...

Can I go see Dad?

If you want.

When?

This weekend.

All right.

I understand.

There are things a woman doesn't get.

I've got to go.

I'll get you a ticket.

Thanks.

OK...

Let's see,

I want her to be able
to look at the tree.

The pillar's in the way.

A little more this way.

Her head will be here.

That's a giant banyan.

It's 400 or 500 years old.

Ah, they're here.

Welcome home.

Are you all right?

I'm fine.

I'll take the bag, Kyoko.

Thanks.

We can't see it.

But your mom,

I think she sees something.

Your mom always loved

to flop here and look up

into the banyan from below.

- Flop?
- For sure.

It feels great,

to flop down here
and look straight up.

- Flop?
- That's right.

Like this?

Are you OK?

Feels good, doesn't it?

She's still a baby.

Still a baby, in a big body.

She's still a child.

The weather is terrific today.

You too?

I feel left out.
Isn't there someone I can lie on?

I'm on my own, self-service.

Lucky you, the two of you.
You look comfortable.

Hello.

Hello.

Hi.

- You're Atsushi's son?
- Yes.

- How old are you?
- 16.

So, you're in your first year
of high school?

Great.

Relax now, have a seat.

Give me your backpack.

This is it.

Awesome.

Yes, this is Atsu's Tattoos.

A dragon?

Do you have a drawing?

Or would you leave that to us?

Well, then,

the way we do things

is to sit down
and meet with you first.

After we've talked it through,
we can go ahead.

Will that be all right?

Good, then, how about next week,

on Wednesday...

You have our address?

Good, why don't you come at 12?

Thanks, we'll see you then.

You look like somethings bugging you.

What is it?

Dad...

why did you split with Mom?

You get right to the point, don't you?

I met Misaki...

You know, it's a strange thing,

you don't know about a person.

Until you meet them.

We ran into each other on the street.

I noticed her,

but then it happened
three times in one day.

That was amazing.

This is fate!
I convinced myself of it.

And then, in a very one-sided way,

I fell in love with her.

If it was fate,

I don't see how you could split up.

I wouldn't call that fate.

Absolutely not.

Shouldn't you be together forever,

if you were fated to fall in love?

I don't want to whitewash this,

but what is it?

When we're apart,
that's when I feel we're together.

And that's good enough?

I thought it was a fate
that would send me soaring,

but now I think of it

as a kind of fate

that means something
over a longer span.

But anyway,

Kaito,

you...

and I...

are father and son.

That'll never change.

Yeah, that's true.

It is.

Hey,

our food's getting cold.

How is it?

It's heavily seasoned.

It's pub food.

Of course it's rich.

Y'know...

what I really want to do

is to paint.

You don't have to be here for that.

Here, in Tokyo?

There's energy here in Tokyo
that you can't find elsewhere.

There's a kind of warmth
that you only find in Tokyo.

Not that I've traveled
all around the world,

but here in Tokyo...

it's not anything physical,

that's not what I mean.

But I sense a kind of abundance.

I still sense that.

I'm always busy,

it tires me out,

time just passes quickly.

But even so,

it's a city that boosts

my desire to express myself.

Let's go!

Wait, I'm out of breath.

Pull me up.

What's with you?

A video game center.

Want to stop in?

I'm alive!

I want to hit another pub.

Where?

Four more years.

One more beer.

In four more years,
you can drink.

You need to sweat over it.

You'll work it out.

It's not easy, but it's really simple.

Do like this,

put your hand to your chest,
think hard.

What feels good is the best choice.

It's amazing,

you look just like Misaki.

My turn.

Kaito: Watch over your mother,
and protect her.

A man-to-man promise.
Atsushi

Take a bath, OK?

I'll be at work until tonight.

See you later.

What are you doing?

You're heavy.

You're heavy, I said.

You're heavy.

That's dangerous. Why'd you do that?

Are you all right?

Do you hurt somewhere?

Hurt?

My heart.

The other day...

that typhoon hit us hard.

It brought in lots of gravel.

When you get old,

you try

not to be too much of a burden.

You hold back,

so you avoid making
people feel bad, y'know.

That's noble.

I couldn't do that.

What's noble about it?

I'm just a coward.

You young people
should never be cowards.

Whatever you want to do,
do it.

What you want to say, say it.

When you want to cry, cry.

The old ones like me

will pick up the pieces.

I'll cover you.

Kyoko.

You think...

people aren't going to die,
don't you?

But in fact,

people do die.

Everyone dies.

But Kyoko's mother,

she's like a god.

The gods,

they die too.

Kaito, grab on below.

How long will it take?

The spirit...

has left.

The sea is calm today.

After noon,

the autumn breeze will blow.

Tokuko?

Is that you, Kyoko?

For a moment,

I mistook you
for your great-grandmother.

You really...

look like her.

She was tall like you,

with fine features.

She was a real beauty.

Whenever I go to sea,

when I go to the hills,

when I go to the fields,

I always see her.

Your great-grandmother
is very pleased

to see you grow
into a young woman.

That Kaito...

he was leading the goat.

The goat sensed it
and refused to budge.

So I shouted,

"Kaito, whip some butt!"

And what did he do,
he slapped my butt!

Well, Kaito's a Tokyo boy.

He just has no guts.

I offer to teach him to surf,
but he never comes by.

Maybe he can't swim.

He swims in a pool.

He doesn't like the sea.
The sea...

What did he say?

- It's sticky.
- See?

Ha!

It's sticky.

And also, you never know
what's in the sea.

It makes him queasy.

He's a delicate kid.

He's got no spine.

What, you talk about
your boyfriend like that?

Huh?

Hes not your boyfriend?
You've been seen together a lot.

By whom?

Well...

What?

It's true.

Really?

What?

What, you too?

I like that type of man.

You're kidding.

He's very nice.

He has character and is very quiet.

His mind is just empty.

The more you criticize,
the more suspect you are.

What do you mean?

- So fishy, smiling like that.
- I'm not.

Really, I'm not.

But you have been seen together.

On a bicycle...

riding double.

- We don't!
- You don't?

How far have you gone?

On the bicycle, of course.

So fishy...

- You're blushing.
- No way!

It's so pretty. Look.

- I blew it.
- I was starting to feel good.

Oh...

Your dancing...

you're out of step.

That's mastery.
It's the mark of skill.

- Skill?
- The mark of skill.

The mark of skill?

You just don't understand yet.

You're just talking.

You've gotten good.

You play well.

What are you up to?

I just wanted to hear your voice.

Shall we get together earlier?

That's OK.

I got my hair cut.
What do you think?

My hair. I sent you a photo.

Thanks.

That makes me happy.

Now? I was thinking about dinner.

I can't today.

He'll be home soon.

Yeah, he'll be coming home.

I want to see you.

That was fun the other day.

The food was delicious,
let's go again.

Kaito: You stay out too late.
I'm off to work. Mother

Kyoko...

Mother...

Are you awake?

Are you awake, Mother?

Are you thirsty? Do you want a drink?

Isa?

Ikyun Nya...

What did you say?

I want to hear Ikyun Nyakana.

- Ikyun Nyakana.
- Ikyun Nyakana?

She wants to hear Ikyun Nyakana.

Can anybody sing Ikyun Nyakana?

Kazuro, you can sing it, can't you?

Shall I sing it?

Kazuro, please do.

Thank you.

Kyoko, bring the sanshin.

I'll sing it for your mother.

Thank you.

Do you really have to go?

Are you going,

forgetting me?

Once you are gone,

what shall I do?

That pains me.

Are you going, after all?

I must go

to an island afar.

A thousand years, ten thousand years

I want to live long.

I wanted to live.

Your mother is feeling good,
isn't she?

The music is making her happy.

Thank you.

Well, then, shall we dance
the August dance?

Sure, that's a good idea.

We'll all dance the August dance.
Watch us.

Everyone, we'll dance together.

Dance together.

She can hear the singing.

She hears.
And the dancing is good.

Isa,

did you hear?

Did you hear the singing?
And the dancing was good.

Shall we dance all 6 verses?

Let's dance them all together.

Isa,

dance together with us.

Kyoko...

I am happy.

Happy.

Thank you.

Mother has come for me.

Mother...

Kaito...

let's make love.

No.

Why not?

You don't want to?

Then, why?

I don't know.

What's up?

What's wrong?

This room is hot.

What is it?

I said, stop that!

Mom, you,

how can you be with men
other than Dad?

It's unnatural.

Right?

Being with so many men,

they call that lechery.

You never get enough.

At your age, it's disgusting.

Stop!

What are you doing here?

- Don't talk to her like that.
- None of your business.

- It is too.
- No, it's not.

It is.

What's with you?

I don't understand women!

Why do you act
like you know everything?

I don't get it. Not at all.

I don't understand either.

I don't understand, but...

What?

If I still care about someone,

if I want to be with him more,

if I try to mend things,
it's because I will it.

You end up

all tied up in knots,

because you have no will.

You...

You don't know!

Don't act like you do!

Remember?

That man who was found drowned,

he was my mother's lover.

What?

I saw them.

I saw them together.

You're wrong.

I saw you.

That man died,

and you found another lover
right away.

I don't get it.

I don't get it.

We are unable to record
a message at this time.

The number you have called

is not responding.

This is the Native Sea inn.

Due to the effects of Typhoon 25,

the restaurant and hotel
have suspended operations.

Mother!

Where are you?

Kaito!

When I came home,
she wasn't there.

Here, let's calm down.

I tried calling her,
but I can't get through.

Her answering service is off.

I called the restaurant,

but there was no answer.

Drink this.

You know, Kaito, waves...

swallow up all sorts of things.

It's an awesome thing.

When we surf,

we take on the last stage
of a wave

that was born far offshore.

The last stage?

The last stage.

To become one with that wave...

because it's the last moment,

it has an incredibly powerful energy.

Then...

when you receive that force

with your entire body,

for a moment

it turns into nothingness.

Nothingness, or stillness.

In any case,

there is a sense that everything,

including yourself,
is absolutely quiet.

Isa is gone now.

But her energy was the best.

The wave named Isa

was to me,

in my life,

the best wave ever.

Kaito,

do you remember
when you first came to the island?

Your family had broken down.

Can you imagine how hard
that was for Misaki?

But you know, Kaito...

the source of her energy

is you, yourself.

So I don't think
she's done anything rash.

Also...

we have to keep
a humble attitude toward nature.

It's pointless to resist it.

Mother!

Where's my mother?

I have to protect her!

She's here.

My mother died.

She's gone home forever.

Do you really have to go?

Will you go, forgetting me?

Once you

are gone

what shall I do?

That pains me.

Are you going, after all?

I must go

to an island afar.

But surely

I'll remember you

and come back again

Those kids

don't understand yet

what lies in the sea.

I can't swim anymore,

can't swim anymore,

can't swim anymore.

You kids,

I'm counting on you.

STILL THE WATER

Subtitles: John Junkerman

Subtitling TITRA FILM Paris