Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

Director:

Scott Hicks

Writers (WGA):

David Guterson (novel)
Ronald Bass (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 January 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

First loves last. Forever.

Plot:

A Japanese-American fisherman may have killed his neighbor Carl at sea. In the 1950's, race figures in the trial. So does reporter Ishmael.

Plot Keywords:

Fisherman | Japanese American | 1950s | Small Town | Trial

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Feb. 17

11:50 AM

MAX

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Ethan Hawke	...	Ishmael Chambers
Youki Kudoh	...	Hatsue Miyamoto
Reeve Carney	...	Young Ishmael Chambers
Anne Suzuki	...	Young Hatsue Imada
Rick Yune	...	Kazuo Miyamoto
Max von Sydow	...	Nels Gudmundsson (as Max Von Sydow)
James Rebhorn	...	Alvin Hooks
James Cromwell	...	Judge Fielding
Richard Jenkins	...	Sheriff Art Moran
Arija Bareikis	...	Susan Marie Heine
Eric Thal	...	Carl Heine Jr.
Celia Weston	...	Etta Heine
Daniel von Bargen	...	Carl Heine Sr. (as Daniel Von Bargen)
Akira Takayama	...	Hisao Imada
Ako	...	Fujiko Imada

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, sensuality and brief strong language.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:S | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Denmark:11 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (936516) | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Cathlamet, Washington, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Ishmael never once pronounces the love-of-his-life's name correctly. He always calls her "Hat-sue" not by her real Japanese name "Ha-Tsu-E".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The guests are wearing black ties at the wedding. In Japan, a black tie signifies a funeral. The guests should be wearing white ties.

Quotes:

Young Hatsue Imada: Don't be sorry. I'm not.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Laudate Dominum

A rather dull movie, based on an excellent novel

Snow Falling on Cedars is, unfortunately, not very interesting. Read the book by David Guterson instead. I know that this sort of comment is of the most irritating kind. It is really hard to adopt quality novels for the screen, but unlike for example "The Cider House Rules", the result in this case is almost an insult on the original work.

Director Scott Hicks seems desperate in trying to follow the original work in as much detail as possible. The result is both confusing an rather uninteresting, with little left of the tension and well-written dialogue of the novel.

In trying to capture the beautifully described feelings of the book: love, guilt, anger and depression, the result in the film is only a gloomy and dull picture that never captures the viewer.

Additionally, Ethan Hawke is surprisingly pale in his lead role. However, Max von Sydow is excellent as always in his role as lawyer Nels Gudmundsson.

I hate to say it, but if you have read the book and liked it: don't see this film. You will only be disappointed. If you haven't read the book and want to see just another American drama movie, you might appreciate Snow Falling on Cedars.