
Still the Water
Futatsume No Mado
Directed by
France, Japan
2013
120 min
- Japanese
Drama
Cannes IFF - CompetitionToronto IFF - World Cinema
On the subtropical Japanese island of Amami, traditions about nature remain eternal. During the full-moon night of traditional dances in August, 14-year-old Kaito discovers a dead body floating in the sea. His girlfriend Kyoko will attempt to help him understand this mysterious discovery. Together, Kaito and Kyoko will learn to become adults by experiencing the interwoven cycles of life, death and love.
Awards
- Best Feature Award – Pacific Meridian IFF
Festivals
Credits
- Cast
- Nijiro Murakami
- Jun Yoshinaga
- Tetta Sugimoto
- Miyuki Matsuda
- Fujio Tokita
- Screenplay
- Naomi Kawase
- Editing
- Tina Baz
- Production
- KUMIE INC.
- Sales
- MK2 FILMS
- Production
- COMME DES CINEMAS
- Production
- ARTE FRANCE CINEMA
- Production
- EDDIE SAETA SA
- Production
- WOWOW INC.
Press
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Still The Water is a spectacle for the senses, which, if there is any justice, will be remembered as one of the greater films of the competition.
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Little else in this year’s Cannes has the lyrical power of this film’s final sequences... Still the Water proves a bewitching, sideswiping experience.
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A striking meditation on what are clearly deeply personal themes, underscored by a profoundly moving death that gives the film its heart and soul...Throughout, Still The Water is visually striking, growing in power from early, controlled shots to a more free-flowing climax.
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Still The Water has an idealism and a tranquillity. Kawase's distinctive serenity and generosity of spirit remain valuable qualities in the cinema.
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Cannes' masterpiece. Deserves the Palme.

Naomi Kawase
Japan
With her first feature, SUZAKU(1997), KAWASE Naomi became the youngest winner of the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, KAWASE has had three other films in competition at Cannes, including SHARA (2003), MOGARI- THE MOURNING FOREST(2007), and HANEZU(2011), which won the Grand Prix Award in 2007. In 2009, she became the first woman and Asian filmmaker to receive the Carrosse d’Or, for directors who have made significant contributions to the Cannes Film Festival. KAWASE’s films have also screened at many other international film festivals, including Locarno and San Sebastian. Her 2017 film RADIANCE was selected in competition at the 70th Cannes Film Festival.