The Backwater
is a 2013 Japanese drama film directed by Shinji Aoyama, starring Masaki Suda. It is based on the Akutagawa Prize-winning novel by Shinya Tanaka and adapted by Haruhiko Arai. The film won the Best Director award from the Swiss critics' federation and the Best Film award from the Junior Jury's at the 2013 Locarno International Film Festival.
Plot
Toma (Masaki Suda) lives with his father, Madoka (Ken Mitsuishi), and Madoka's lover, Kotoko (Yukiko Kinoshita) on the riverside in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Toma's mother, Jinko (Yūko Tanaka), resides on the other side of the bridge, making a living by cleaning fish. Madoka routinely beats and chokes women during sex. As Madoka's son, Toma is afraid of becoming like his father.
More details
| author | Haruhiko Arai |
|---|---|
| director | Shinji Aoyama |
| editor | Genta Tamaki |
| events | sexual violence by intimate partners |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | clean river shimonoseki yamaguchi prefecture |
| musicBy | Isao Yamada Shinji Aoyama |
| producer | Naoki Kai |
| productionCompany | Style Jam |
| publisher | Bitters End |
| theme | japanese |