This 2007 film from Francois Girard tells the story of a young Frenchman, Herve Joncour (Michael Pitt) who leaves Helene (Kiera Knightley), his bride of only a few days, behind in their 1860s French town to go on a journey to Japan at the behest of the local merchant Baldabiou (Alfred Molina) to purchase silkworms, a forbidden black market commodity. Baldabiou's dream of creating a successful silk manufacturing plant in the town comes to fruition and thanks to Herve's daring excursions the town and its residents prospers. But Herve has a stronger motive for his travels than trade: he has fallen in love with the mysterious mistress of his Japanese contact Hara Jubei (played by Koji Yakusho). In the photo above, actress Sei Ashina plays the enigmatic, silent Girl.
Back in France, his good fortune allows Herve to purchase a plot of land and build a villa for Helene, to be surrounded by magnificent gardens. A mysterious letter which Herve believes to be from The Girl keeps Herve's hopes alive, even though it purports to be a farewell message. Things begin to go badly however; Helene falls ill, and one batch of silkworms die in transit after Herve's desire for The Girl clouds his business dealings. Hoping to recoup, he makes a final trip to Japan only to find the village where he traded destroyed in civil uprisings and his beloved Girl being hastened across the land by the fleeing Hara Jubei. Pursuing her leads to disaster, and he returns to France to find his life there unraveling further.
Based on Alessandro Baricco's novel, the film is visually splendid, especially in the scenes depicting Herve's travels across Europe and Asia to reach his Japanese destination. The musical score by Ryuichi Sakamoto is appealing and one theme seems to draw on an after-image of Samuel Barber's well-known Adagio for Strings.
In one of those brief but unforgettable film roles that both delights and disturbs, Kanata Hongo plays a nameless servant boy in Hara Jubei's employ. An androgynous beauty with delicate features (for most of the film I thought he was a she), Kanata - as it turns out - is a pop icon in Japan. Here in the film his quiet delight in putting Herve on The Girl's trail is paid for when he is brutally executed by Hara Jubei for breaking faith. It is this boy's image - and his fate - that lingers when the film has ended.
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