They Say Nothing Stays the Same - Review

The movie They Say Nothing Stays the Same/Aru Sendo No Hanashi (Japan/2019) has won the Suvarna Chakoram honour for the Best Film at the recently concluded 24th IFFK 2019. Directed by Japanese actor and musician Joe Odagiri, the film is set in the rural Japan.

The plot

The story revolves around the life of Toichi (Akira Emoto). He ferries people across the mighty river that separates the mountainous village from the rest of the world. Everybody needs his service to cross the river. There is a bridge being built across the river. There are references about the changes caused by the construction activities. Like others, Toichi also hopes that the bridge is for good. But as the days pass, old Toichi becomes the guardian of an adolescent girl whom he finds in the river. We get to guess that she became an orphan after both her parents were murdered. The completed bridge makes Toichi even poorer and marginalised. The village becomes a busy hub where people like Toichi finds no place. The movie ends with the girl surviving a fatal sexual assault after which both Toichi and the girl leave the village.

Photo Courtesy: YouTube

Symbolism and more

The film has stunning visuals by cinematographer Christopher Doyle and promising performances by actors. There are many wide and extreme wide angle shots. The film makes the audience feel as if they are witnessing an inevitable tragedy from a height.
The film is rich in symbolism. Water, especially flowing water is a constant imagery in the film. The title and the main plot suggests that change is constantly happening not just in natural cycle of seasons and to societies, but also within very human being. Flowing water seems to signify the transient nature of life. Toichi talks about fireflies that vanished after the construction activities started. Toichi says that fireflies are signs that the water is clean. He says he would close fireflies over the bridge. The girl agrees.

A still from the film

Death is a strong imagery in the film. A man wishes his dead body be kept in the forest so that he can pay back his debt to the nature. He was a hunter. He has been surviving on the flesh of animals and birds he hunted. We see fireflies returning even as his wish is granted. Like Toichi said, they thrive best on pure waters.

Background score by Tigran Hamasyan adds to the story telling. Some people may find the movie frustratingly lagging.  One lasting imagery in the movie is that of the of Toichi’s hut in  flames on the snow covered land. Like a scorching hot sun smells of ice. For me that one imagery sums up the movie. 


Unnikrishnadas V