Silk (2007 film)
| Silk | |
|---|---|
 A French poster for the film | |
| Directed by | Francois Girard |
| Written by |
François Girard Michael Golding |
| Starring |
Michael Pitt Keira Knightley Alfred Molina Miki Nakatani Koji Yakusho Callum Keith Rennie |
| Music by | Ryûichi Sakamoto |
| Cinematography | Alain Dostie |
| Editing by | Pia Di Ciaula |
| Distributed by |
US: Picturehouse JP: Asmik Ace |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $7,965,682 |
Silk is the film adaptation of Italian author Alessandro Baricco's novel of the same name. It was released in September 2007 through New Line Cinema and directed by The Red Violin director, François Girard.
American actor Michael Pitt stars in the lead role of the French silkworm smuggler Hervé Joncour, with British actress Keira Knightley as his wife, Hélène, a teacher and keen gardener.[1] Japanese actors Miki Nakatani and Koji Yakusho are also featured. Exterior Japanese scenes were filmed in the city of Sakata. Knightley's scenes were filmed in Sermoneta, Italy, a small medieval village near Latina.
Plot
Hervé (Michael Pitt), in 19th century France, is a military officer, because that is what his father wants. He is happy when he gets the opportunity to change his profession to that of trader of silkworm eggs. Because in Europe silkworms are affected by a disease (pébrine), he is sent to Africa to get healthy eggs. (The film shows only a brief desert scene.)
Since the African silkworms are affected too, he is sent to Japan, even though at that time (the Bakumatsu period) almost all of Japan was off-limits to foreigners. The journey is by carriage and train, a caravan of horses through Asia, the boat trip from the Asian continent to Japan, and guided, blindfolded, on horseback to the Japanese village where he can buy the eggs from a local baron, Hara Jubei (Kōji Yakusho).
During his stay in the village he becomes obsessed with the unnamed concubine of Jubei (Sei Ashina) who hands him a note in Japanese. On a second journey he has sex with another girl handed to him by Jubei's concubine. Having traded more eggs than on his first trip, Hervé delays his departure by two days in the hope of seeing the girl again. At home Hervé's love remains secret, and though he seems happy with his wife, Hélène, they remain childless. Hervé seeks out a French-Japanese brothel owner in Lyon, Madame Blanche (Miki Nakatani), known for giving the small blue flowers that she wears to her clients, who translates the note for him as: 'Come back or I shall die'. Madame Blanche advises Hervé to 'forget about her, she won't die'.
The third time he is sent to China, since Japan is no longer safe, and good eggs are now available in China. Regardless of the politics in Japan, Hervé insists on going there anyway. When he arrives in Japan, however, war has broken out and the village is abandoned; Jubei and the girl are not there. A young servant boy of Jubei (Kanata Hongō), who Hervé has met before, shows Hervé the way to Jubei. The latter becomes hostile and tells Hervé to go home. Before he leaves, Hervé discovers that Jubei had the boy executed (by hanging) for showing Hervé where to find them. Without meeting the girl, Hervé buys eggs in China and returns home. Unfortunately after arrival, Hervé discovers that the eggs have hatched and are, therefore, useless. To employ the village, Hervé decides to build Hélène's garden that disastrous summer.
At last, Hervé receives a long letter from the mysterious concubine, written in Japanese. He again takes the letter to Madame Blanche for translation, who agrees, providing Hervé never comes to see her again. The letter is a deeply moving declaration of love.
Hélène becomes ill and eventually dies. After her death, Hervé finds a tribute of small, blue flowers on her grave. He seeks out Madame Blanche once more, believing her to have written the letter, but Madame Blanche reveals to him that Hélène had read her the letter to translate into Japanese. Hélène had Madame Blanche translate the letter for her, knowing that her husband was in love with a Japanese woman, and wanting him to be happy. Madame Blanche tells Hervé that, more than anything, his wife loved him. Too late, Hervé finally realizes that it was Hélène who was his true love after all.
The film ends with Hervé, fated to remain childless, recounting his story to Ludovic (Mark Rendall) – a young protégé since childhood and now Hélène's gardener – on a bench in Hélène's garden. Henceforth, Ludovic can now appreciate the real story behind Hélène's garden.
Cast
- Michael Pitt as Hervé Joncour
- Keira Knightley as Hélène Joncour
- Alfred Molina as Baldabiou
- Miki Nakatani as Madame Blanche
- Kōji Yakusho as Hara Jubei
- Sei Ashina as The Mistress
- Callum Keith Rennie as Schuyler
- Mark Rendall as Ludovic Berbek
- Naoko Watanabe as Japanese girl
Reception
Silk received mainly negative reviews from critics, as the film holds a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 56 reviews.
References
- ↑ Ebert, Roger (2012), A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length: More Movies That Suck, Andrews McMeel Publishing, p. 300, ISBN 1449417574.
External links
- Silk at the Internet Movie Database
- Silk at Rotten Tomatoes
- Silk at Box Office Mojo
- KeiraWeb Project development and news