Japanese Loneliness in Norwegian Wood and Other Films

I think the film Norwegian Wood is beautiful in the images it captures, specifically of the landscapes at the sanatorium and the decor of the houses. The hue gives it a uniquely Murakami vibe, making it feel hazy, like a memory, which is fitting as the story is told through Toru’s memory in the book. While looking at the settings and feel of the movie, I wonder if this story would work, or have the same effect, in an American context. I think the fact that the story, characters, and setting is Japanese creates this unique lonely, detached Murakami vibe. 

For example, when we watched the short film for “The Second Bakery Attack”, the class pretty unanimously felt that the story seemed awkward and diverged too much from the source material. Whereas, the Japanese short film adaptation accomplished the hunger and confusing, empty feeling that is so imperative for Murakami. In Norwegian Wood, I think the beauty of the rural sanatorium, and the culture of Japan that comes through on screen, makes the film. A scene of an American eating alone in New York City has a different feeling than the image of Toru eating alone at a Jazz café in Tokyo. The loneliness comes through more, and it doesn’t seem as out of place as it would be for someone to do this in a place like New York. I notice a similar feeling of Japanese loneliness in Lost in Translation by Sofia Coppola. There is something about the aesthetics and culture of Tokyo that evokes this feeling alienation and existentialism. 

Ultimately, I thought the setting and narrative came alive on screen when I could actually see the shops, apartments, and landscapes more accurately than in my mind. I also think the setting is crucial for accomplishing this memory-like, lonely, detached feeling, which we see in other films that take place in Japan. I wonder if anyone else has thoughts about this, or maybe disagrees?

-Ayjia