Kore-Eda's Ocean View (Portrayal of Bodies of Water in the Movies of Kore-Eda Hirokazu) (Critical Essay‪)‬

Kore-eda Hirokazu's films are punctuated by bodies of water. This is not the most obvious element of his filmmaking, but it is one of the most profound. In situations with no clear answers, bodies of water (tributaries, lakes, oceans) offer a troubled character a healing expanse and also a concealing expanse. Kore-eda's ocean view is one of paradox and comfort at the same time. In Kore-eda's feature films, a scene by water, or involving water, becomes essential for moving one large step past accumulated trauma. The bodies of water, in themselves, solve or resolve nothing. Rather, they wash in moments of forgetting and forgiveness. In the ending scenes in three Kore-eda films--Maborosi (Maborosi no hikari, 1995), Distance (Disutansu, 2001), and Still Walking (Aruitemo. aruitemo, 2008)--protagonists turn towards, and away from, a large body of water. Water helps them regain balance and composure, moving beyond simple conclusions and dichotomies. In Air Doll (Kuki ningyo, 2009), the heroine finds herself transported by water, and freed from a life of servitude.