By Andrew Hamlin
Northwest Asian Weekly
Director Aaron Woolfolk’s dramatic feature, “The Harimaya Bridge,” filmed mostly in Japan, opens with a young Black man working on a painting. As the film’s credits are shown, the young man, Mickey Holder (played by Victor Grant), works through a series of splotches and wide stripes that seem insignificant.
However, by the end of his work, he’s produced a striking portrait of two lovers on a bridge.
The Harimaya Bridge and the legend that goes with it eventually become relevant to the film’s story. But the film’s plot relies on the paintings that Mickey so lovingly produces. They become precious, and worth fighting over, to several different parties.
Suddenly, we see Mickey lying in a coffin. At first, the film doesn’t tell us how he died. As his father Daniel and uncle Joseph (played by Ben Guillory and Danny Glover) are in mourning, a beautiful young Japanese woman (Saki Takaoka) leans over the casket to kiss Mickey goodbye. She leaves without saying a word.
Family stories from World War II leave Daniel with a deep resentment of the Japanese people. He never understood Mickey’s decision to paint and teach in Japan. Mickey’s death robbed him of reconciliation with his son.
Daniel tells Joseph that he wants all of Mickey’s art back in his possession. As the father, he feels entitled to the artwork. So Daniel flies to a country where he doesn’t speak the language, knows very little about local customs, and bears a deep grudge against everyone he sees.
As Daniel, Ben Guillory seems quiet enough on the surface. But he never backs down. His eyes grow wider and his voice rougher when he answers his critics with anger. The audience feels his resentment, impatience, and distaste for Mickey’s Japanese co-workers.
But Guillory maintains an underlying dignity that draws empathy. He reminds us that most people value their own views over the views of others. However, they are also thinking, feeling, and vulnerable people.
Japanese actress Saki Takaoka helps to counterbalance the story. Daniel Holder spends much of the film chasing after her character, Noriko Kubo, the mysterious lady at Mickey’s funeral.
When she finally reveals herself, she has a story to tell. Against Daniel’s bluster, she counters with quiet dignity and surprising fortitude. She reminds Daniel that he is on Japanese territory. The people Mickey built his life around reserve the right to shape his memory, his art, and his legacy.
Cinematographer Masao Nakabori is a critical player in Woolfolk’s film. Shot after artfully-composed shot shows Daniel posed in opposition to the Japanese surrounding him. The gap assumes many different shapes, sizes, and angles, but it remains formidable. Nakabori can also release tension, showing the colors and natural beauty of Japan’s Kochi Prefecture.
The film’s press kit quotes well-known actor Danny Glover, who plays a small part and helped to co-produce the film. Glover says that he likes to make movies that “risk taking us out of our comfort zone which we have, and explore new dynamics and relationships.” Here’s hoping that “The Harimaya Bridge,” with its intensive but naturalistic exploration of a troubled cross-cultural dynamic, is the first in a long line of such worthy projects. ♦
“The Harimaya Bridge” plays Sept. 17–23 at the Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 E. 50th Street in Seattle’s University District. For prices and show times, call 206-523-3935 or visit www.grandillusioncinema.org.
Andrew Hamlin can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.