Hamon (2023) User Reviews

Our interactions with others, visualized

[KFL · 7/10 · 23 March 2024]

The title "Hamon" is a standard Japanese word meaning, literally, "ripples", and metaphorically, the influences we each of us exert on others. This is underscored several times in this movie with scenes in which the principals--the wife, husband, son, etc--stand in a shallow pond, and waves emanating from one character expand in the usual circular pattern to reach the others.

An interesting enough visualization of interpersonal relations, but nothing that couldn't be applied to any movie involving humans. Or, indeed, any living organism.

The film's arc traces the tribulations of a Japanese housewife who is obligated to deal with a husband's sudden disappearance, the death of said husband's father, the flight of the only-child son to university and then a career as far away as one can travel without leaving Japan (well, excepting Okinawa), and then the reappearance of said prodigal husband. Among other events.

There is a fair amount of humor, a fair amount of bathos, some awkward scenes with the deaf fiance that the son brings home without any prior announcement.

It was, I think, worth watching even before the final scene, which was surprising, rousing, invigorating, actually rather wonderful. Ole!

kudo to the director

[Kahuna-6 · 9/10 · 6 March 2024]

Definitely won't call this a comedy but a hard hitting critique of the status of woman in Japan.

It may be slow in the beginning, almost formulaic in the plot development. A woman is expected to be subservient, polite and tolerant; even to the extend of being sexually harass by both the husband and father in law. In society, she has to conform to the cultural norms, serving the community as and when required. This movie also shows why pseudo-religions and cults are still very much big business in Japan catering to the emotional isolation of the individuals.

The patience required in gardening, like raking pebbles into imaginary landscape, helps relieve some of the loneliness.

But everything gets undone when a runaway husband returned on a terminal illness diagnosis. The son insisting on marrying an older woman against her wish drove our lead actress to her wit's end.

When the last scene of her now dead falling out of his coffin onto her well mannered yard broke the last straw. Or maybe liberate her from her misery.

The flamenco in the rain as the close scene is poignant and brilliantly shot.

Kudo to the director for taking this difficult subject and handle it delicately.