Snow Falling on Cedars (1999): 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. (6.7)
Director: Scott Hicks
Writers: David Guterson (novel), Ronald Bass (screenplay)
Stars: Ethan Hawke, Max von Sydow and Youki Kudoh
This is a really well made movie. The depiction of WWII period era scenes is beautiful. The use of pacific northwest scenery is nicely done. More importantly, the story has several interwoven emotional themes: right and wrong; attitudes and traditions of the society and its people; love, betrayal, tradition, letting go, etc. I didn't know that this was based on a novel. The book must be twice as good, then. The way the story is told, the emotions come bubbling up from all sides; very powerful use of the flashbacks, historical events and timelines. IMDB's user review is spot-on, but don't read it before seeing the move. Highly recommend it. My Rating: 8.5
