Product: Snow Falling on Cedars (2000)
Rating: 5.0
Atmospheric WWII Drama
"Snow Falling On Cedars" takes place on a remote island off the coast of America in the Pacific northwest, and the time is shortly after the end of WWII. The community on the island is comprised of long time residents as well as more recent arrivals, including both European and Japanese immigrants. In flashbacks, events during the war are revealed, including the battlefield service of two young men, one Caucasian and one of Japanese descent, and the forced internment of Japanese families during the conflict. As the story opens, there is bitterness over an aborted land deal between two immigrant families from Europe and Japan, and a murder has apparently taken place involving the sons of those families. Anger towards the Japanese immigrants is felt by many in the community. Mixed with this is the romance between a young Japanese woman and the local newspaper editor, who was badly wounded during the war while fighting the Japanese. All of the tension boils down to a courtroom drama as the participants try to figure out what really happened. The photography is moody and often features lots of gray, rainy or snowy days. It is a satisfying, if slowly paced, film that will mostly appeal to adult audiences.