Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
This film is certified
- emotionally intense scenes, bereavement theme, brief nudity
The Mourning Forest
A beautiful and contemplative portrait of grief from Cannes-winning filmmaker Naomi Kawase (Sweet Bean, Still the Water).
Drama 2007 97 mins
Director: Naomi Kawase
Overview
Machiko (Machiko Ono) is a young nurse who still carries the burden of her young son’s death. Shigeki (Shigeki Uda) is an elderly widower and a resident at the nursing home where Machiko works. After celebrating Shigeki’s birthday, Machiko takes him for a drive in the countryside, but their car breaks down and Shigeki absconds into the nearby forest. Machiko has no choice but to follow, and they become lost in the dense woodlands, before their fates eventually become entwined.
Drawing comparisons to the works of Shohei Imamura and Terrence Malick, Naomi Kawase’s The Mourning Forest is a hauntingly beautiful, symbolically rich masterpiece.
emotionally intense scenes, bereavement theme, brief nudityRelated
Drama
All About My Mother All About My Mother
Drama 1999 101 mins Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Almodóvar's dazzling study of grief, motherhood and female solidarity, winner of an Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film.
System Crasher System Crasher
Drama 2019 120 mins Director: Nora Fingscheidt
An intensive drama about a pre-pubescent girl who actually crashes Germany’s child and welfare system whilst on her quest for love and security.
Talk to Her Talk to Her
Drama 2002 113 mins Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Two men are brought together while caring for women in comas, in one of Almodóvar's most acclaimed and moving features.
A White, White Day A White, White Day
Drama 2019 109 mins Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Iceland’s finest actor Ingvar Sigurðsson gives a heart-breaking and Cannes award-winning performance as widowed cop who becomes increasingly obsessed with his wife’s death.
Volver Volver
Drama 2005 121 mins Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Family secrets echo around a Spanish clan, ringing loud enough to rouse the dead, in Pedro Almodóvar's assured melodrama.
A Moment in the Reeds A Moment in the Reeds
Romance 2017 107 mins Director: Mikko Makela
The world’s troubles recede, at least for a moment, in this intimate drama about an affair between a Finnish man and a Syrian immigrant.
21st-century Japan
Sweet Bean Sweet Bean
Drama 2015 113 mins Director: Naomi Kawase
A struggling street food vendor accepts help from an elderly lady with a sensational recipe up her sleeve, in Naomi Kawase's bittersweet drama of culinary redemption.
Nobody Knows Nobody Knows
Drama 2003 141 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s drama about four children left to fend for themselves is a heartbreaking study of childhood neglect.
Still Walking Still Walking
Drama 2008 115 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreeda’s subtle, moving account of the tensions within a family is his most Ozu-like film.
Departures Departures
Drama 2008 131 mins Director: Yôjirô Takita
A professional cellist gets a new job as an assistant mortician in this delightful and bittersweet drama, winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® in 2009.
Creepy Creepy
Thriller 2016 130 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cuire, Pulse) makes a triumphant return to the horror genre with this macabre and deeply unsettling thriller.
The Lust of Angels The Lust of Angels
Drama 2014 38 mins Director: Nagisa Isogai
After a schoolgirl is molested on the notorious 'groper train' in their town, a group a schoolgirls band together to emact revenge.
Directed by Naomi Kawase
Sweet Bean Sweet Bean
Drama 2015 113 mins Director: Naomi Kawase
A struggling street food vendor accepts help from an elderly lady with a sensational recipe up her sleeve, in Naomi Kawase's bittersweet drama of culinary redemption.
New
All About My Mother All About My Mother
Drama 1999 101 mins Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Almodóvar's dazzling study of grief, motherhood and female solidarity, winner of an Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film.
System Crasher System Crasher
Drama 2019 120 mins Director: Nora Fingscheidt
An intensive drama about a pre-pubescent girl who actually crashes Germany’s child and welfare system whilst on her quest for love and security.
Prevenge Prevenge
Comedy 2016 88 mins Director: Alice Lowe
Alice Lowe directs and stars in this riotous tale of a pregnant serial killer, hellbent on revenge.
Only God Forgives Only God Forgives
Crime 2013 90 mins Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Ryan Gosling takes on Bangkok’s criminal underworld in this kaleidoscopic revenge fantasy from cult director Nicolas Winding Refn.
Talk to Her Talk to Her
Drama 2002 113 mins Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Two men are brought together while caring for women in comas, in one of Almodóvar's most acclaimed and moving features.
A White, White Day A White, White Day
Drama 2019 109 mins Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Iceland’s finest actor Ingvar Sigurðsson gives a heart-breaking and Cannes award-winning performance as widowed cop who becomes increasingly obsessed with his wife’s death.