Rating: 
Summary: Old-fashioned drama with sociopolitical subtext
Review: Scott Hicks' stunningly beautiful film version of David Guterson's best-seller comes off as an unabashedly old-fashioned courtroom drama with a sociopolitical subtext. The accused, Kazuo Miyamoto (Rick Yune), is charged with the brutal murder of a fellow fisherman in the Pacific Northwest island town of San Piedro. Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), the defendant's wife, fears her husband can't get a fair trial in a community that, in 1954, remains divided by the anti-Japanese sentiments that flowered during World War II. Meanwhile, local reporter Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke) observes the courtroom proceedings with an acutely personal interest: Long ago, he loved Hatsue. The aptly claustrophobic trial scenes are arrestingly intense, especially when Max Von Sydow is on camera as an elderly yet quick-witted defense attorney. But "Snow Falling on Cedars" wisely spends most of its time outside of the courtroom, as '40s flashbacks reveal the connections and conflicts in a close-knit community where a far-off war brings out the worst in friends and neighbors.
Rating: 
Summary: A subtle haunting quality that will linger in your mind...
Review: Just recently, I rented this movie from my local video rental store, having remembered I had missed out on it in theatres. I figured it to be just a love story, but boy was I wrong. The reviews of this movie saying it was too hard to follow, and that it tries to be too many kinds of movies at once etc.are TOTALLY wrong. I am in high school, and this movie was perfectly clear to you, and tells its story even more craftily by not revealing the story blatantly. It'll have you thinking for days, and you'll be tempted to watch it over and over again, and catch the little things you might have missed here and there. After watching it, an order off of Amazon was the first thing I did. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because i rarely ever give five stars, because that would imply the movie is perfect, and its not. It lingers here and there, but don't let this MINOR flaw drive you away from this memorable experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Histrionics, phony poetry
Review: The story, set in the state of Washington in 1950, is typical Hollywood: Japanese girl and American boy grow up together, fall in love; war, internment and family pressure turn them against each other; they meet at the murder trial of her husband to which he holds a vital clue. If this could have been told efficiently, fine, whatever. But instead we have histrionics, phony poetry, endless shots of sea and cedars and snow. It's very tedious. And all cut and dried. Naturally, the Japanese are universally saintly, the local district attorney and mother of the murdered man are, but of course, White devils. Much of the film feels amateurish, the kind of work a precocious film student might produce. If you eliminated the excess, the film might run 15 minutes, tops. [Director] Hicks (Shine) obviously considers it beneath him to tell a dramatic story in a coherent fashion. Defense attorney Max von Sydow's typical (and lengthy) guilt-inducing speech about "intolerance" comes out of the blue. Up to that point the camera hasn't stopped lurching around long enough to stay on anyone's face for more than 30 seconds, then suddenly this? Gotta love Hollywood Leftists....A few moments at the end are OK. Ethan Hawke as the American retains his dignity. The woman (Youki Kudoh) spends too much of the time with a sort of sour, self-pityingly look on her face. I couldn't imagine anyone throwing everything away for her.
Rating: 
Summary: Entrancing
Review: A wonderful film! Once you get accustomed to the movement back and forth, the story becomes engaging and you are caught up in the characters and the story. We viewed this in the theatre and the end of the movie found the audience remaining in their seats still caught in the magic of the film and the captivitating music which played as the credits rolled. If you enjoy movies that portray life in a more realistic way than the usual Hollywood hype, you will truly appreciate this one!
Rating: 
Summary: STRIVING FOR WHAT IS RIGHT
Review: I expected so much more from this film. While it was visually stunning and had many lovely actors in it, I felt deflated and disappointed by it. The film drove the viewer to expect something dramatic and telling to happen, but it doesn't. The film is overly long, slow-moving and offers no real surprises. I did not read the book upon which this is based, so I was not sure what the plot was. I suspect the book was a lot better than the film. The story surrounds a town's bitterness toward the Japanese following World War II and one man's feelings for a Japanese girl. Ethan Hawke is subdued but good in his role as the one man who can prove the innocence of the Japanese girl's husband in a court case but also the one man who has the most to lose personally by doing so. Hawke's character, as a boy in the Pacific Northwest, meets the Japanese girl. They become the best of friends and eventually they share a kiss together. It is never clear if their relationship went beyond this point, but it is safe to say that Hawke's character loved the girl. However, all the Japanese families were being shipped off to internment camps, and he and the girl were no longer able to see one another. While in the camps, the girl met a Japanese-American man (who served in the war also) and married him. Hawke also served in the war and loses an arm in battle. Hawke's father (played by Sam Shepard) is a free-thinking newspaper publisher, and he is one of the few who uses his voice and paper to criticise the policy of interning the Japanese. Soon, advertisers are pulling their support of his paper, and he is left to try to print the paper alone. Hawke becomes a journalist because of his father. Ultimately the values his father taught him about standing up for what is right and decent are what leads Hawke to gather the evidence needed to keep the Japanese girl's husband from being convicted of a murder for which he was being framed. In the end, Hawke's heart is still broken, but he has done the right thing.
Rating:
Summary: magical
Review: Carl, a fisherman in the waters off Washington state, has been found dead, drowned in own nets, but with a serious head wound. Was he murdered? Post-war anti-Japanese sentiments are still running high, and the local Japanese community provides a murder suspect in the form of Kazuo, another fisherman, who had a grudge against Carl's family. Ishmael, the small town's newspaperman, may have the information that would acquit Kazuo, but can he ever put his jilted love for Hatsue (Kazuo's wife) aside?
Rating:
Summary: TEARS THREE TIMES
Review: If you like movies which make you feel, this is one for you. If you want a movie to make you laugh, this is not for you. If you enjoy a emotional roller coaster this is for you. This movie will make you cry at least three times. IF YOU ARE A MAN AFRAID OF CRYING IN FRONT OF FRIENDS OR LOVED ONES, THEN I SUGGEST SEEING ALONE. This is a truly extraordinary movie.
Rating:
Summary: Touching and very empowering!
Review: There's something magical about dreamy landscapes and lush settings where complex stories take place. Movies with this advantage tend to wrap their viewers in a rich blanket of visual and auditory imagery, bringing them further into the story while dazzling the senses. "Snow Falling on Cedars" is like an unfolding dream, one with snowy hills and trees and a meticulous ensemble of stunning images with a warm heart pulsating throughout its story. Scott Hicks' 1999 film version of David Guterson's acclaimed novel is every bit as moving and powerful as its source material, while also becoming something richer and deeper. The complexity of this movie is what pleases me the most, because every Hicks is able to take the novel's different stories and tie them all together to one another as the author intended. The movie opens when police find a fisherman caught in his own net on a crystal clear lake surrounded by ice-capped mountains all around. Upon reaching the docks, the police start asking questions about the man's whereabouts the night before. Moving ahead, a trial begins, and we learn that a Japanese fisherman, Kabuo Miyamoto, is on trial for the murder of the deceased, Carl Heine. Attending the trial is his wife, Hatsure Imada Miyamoto, and the local paper's owner and sole reporter, Ishmael Chambers, who has a past with the defendant's wife. The trial takes place in the winter, as the snow is just beginning to fall in San Piedro Island, on the northwest shores of the United States. It is home to thousands of Japanese immigrants who had migrated to the country from their homeland before the United States' entrance into World War II. This furthers the story as we watch through flashbacks the herding of the Japanese residents to internment camps in the nearby state of Washington. And amidst all the turmoil of memories brought up by the trial, Ishmael and Hatsue are forced to remember the time they shared as children and teenagers, playing together on the beach and beginning a relationship that was considered inappropriate at the time by both their familes and friends. Each of these plots all become interconnected through the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto, which can seem a bit draggy at times, but never fails in its knowledge of court proceedings and moments of tension. For the most part, the trial is very interesting, but it is the intense and passionate relationship that Ishmael and Hatsue relive in their memories that keeps the drama of this film moving. Their relationship is seen in so many different lights: we see it through the eyes of they themselves (Ishmael cares not for what others might think, while Hatsue is more reserved about her feelings towards the relationship), as well as quietly seeing it through the eyes of their parents, who each have some moment in the movie where they voice their opposing opinions about having relationships with their own ethnic group as opposed to a differing one. Their passionate journies together on the beach, picking strawberries and among the cedar trees will sweep you up and carry you away as you lose yourself into their romance. While being a fictional piece, there is also a great deal of history residing in this film's plot. Like the book, the movie tells of the movement to rush Japanese residents of the United States to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941. While the movie does not capture all of the occurences and feeling that the book portrays when the Japanese are being investigated all over the island, upon further examination, you'll find that it's not really needed. The focus of the film at that time is the impending separation of Ishmael and Hatsue as she is about to go off to the camps and he is drafted soon after. They will see one another once before leaving, a quick glance, which is one of the most moving moments in motion picture history. There is so much empowerment and moving epic storytelling in a like this, partly because there is so much to tell, and partly because the filmmakers choose to tell the story in a more-than-conventional way. Instead of taking a direct approach to focusing on just the characters themselves, director Hicks and director of photography Robert Richardson choose to add focus to the island setting itself, incorporating vast shots of the beauty of the snowy town to show the conditions the people live in, furthering the emotional factor of the story while also giving the viewer a sense that there is much isolation and loneliness in certain scenes where its impact is prudent to the plot. James Newton Howard has also set an entire new precedent in the art of music making, and his score for "Snow Falling on Cedars" is moving, brilliant, and adds nothing but visceral and enticing chords and haunting melodies that serve as the biggest aspect of striking the emotions of the audience. I tried envisioning a better acting cast for this movie after seeing it, and will admit that I thought of a few people to play different roles, but soon realized that it would change the entire feeling of the story. Ethan Hawke is perfectly fit for the role of Ishmael. He is such a wonderful actor, and his ability to show emotions of sadness and despair with such authenticity make him a perfect casting choice for the role. Youki Kudoh, playing the character of Hatsue, is the total embodiment of innocence, virtue and mystery that is imperative for the role. Hatsue goes through so many different events and emotions in her lifetime, and Kudoh handles the role with a grace and feeling all her own. She makes the audience believe in her emotional and social struggle, while also playing out Hatsue's ever-changing feelings for Ishmael as if it were on off-screen romance as well. James Cromwell, James Rebhorn, and Max von Sydow play the three major roles of the courtroom characters, and they add their own spark of intensity to the trial proceedings right where each is needed. Rebhorn must also be commended for his ability to act like a complete jerk in court, while making the audience believe that his actions are solely in the name of defending the law. Sydow is, as always, a comic relief, his wit and humor jumping in to give us a laugh or two between the testimonies of various witnesses. The book on which this film is based is truly inspired, opulent and hypnotic in every aspect of it conveyance of the story it so wonderfully tells. The movie captures that same opulence and inspiration, but goes deeper in emotional depth and involvement. Through Hicks' imagery and Howard's musical score, we are taken on a breathtaking journey into the heart of a small town where a love that once lay in the forest is brought back to life too late to be reconciled, but will remain in the hearts of characters and the audience forever.
Rating:
Summary: much ado about not much
Review: thie movie is like a pretty girl who is so impressed with herself but is shallow and hollow inside--- sooo impressed with his images & flashbacks- a soundtrack that swells so often the effect after a while is deadening--portentousness gives way to pretense---the director was obviously awash in the beauty of what he was shooting--but the constant flashbacking and the lush but ultimately phony soundtrack destroys all momentum --the dialogue is often ridiculous --- even the title is phony pandering to all those really good oriental movies-as is the whole meaningleess enterprise --the story underneath all the portentousness is weak--hence all the posturing to make it look like something is going on==but its the emperors new clothes----theres really nothing here-- real phony crap-- that looks pretty but is annoying and ultimately unwatchable as u realize its all boloney
Rating:
Summary: A Great One
Review: This is a movie that relies on photography, fine acting, and simple story telling. There are no chases, very little violence, and none of it gratuitous, no nudity, very little profanity (and that bland by many people's standards), and only one depiction of sex between the central characters. The movie is gripping, it is beautiful, and the cast is magnificent. The story is complex, involving a love story, a son growing up in his father's shawdow, a war, a national disgrace, and a murder trial. The photography is stunning. The passions are timeless. The entertainment is transfixing.
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