As in Murakami's novel, the presentation of the context is a bit difficult to get into completely. However, if one perceives the film not contextually, but aesthetically, he will definitely come across an excellent adaptation and movie overall.

| Apr 13, 2020

A natural continuation of themes that have long been important to Tran, and here they congeal into something wholly entrancing.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 6, 2019

Norwegian Wood is a lovely film -- which seems like a strange thing to say about a piece of work that centers on love and loss.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 4, 2019

It may frustrate Murakami fans, and mystify those not familiar with the book.

| Aug 30, 2018

Like its source material from Haruki Murakami, this is a beautiful film that exquisitely captures grief and sadness, and unsurprisingly, it probably won't help you if you're suffering from seasonal affective disorder.

| Original Score: B | Aug 15, 2013

The acting in the film is key. Every moment by Ken'ichi Matsuyama as Watanabe and Rinko Kikuchi as Naoko is valid yet seems distilled by memory rather than presented raw.

| Jun 19, 2013

Director Tran Anh Hung would much rather show than tell but he never wants to brag about what he's showing.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 4, 2013

... suffused in melancholia, with imagery as delicate as the lives it presents and atmospheres so fragile they look like they'd shatter under too much emotional pressure.

| May 19, 2012

Like an old memory that never loses its hold, "Norwegian Wood" stays with you.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 16, 2012

As melancholy and fragile and at times even as lovely as the John Lennon composition from which it borrows its name...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 19, 2012

We cover years at a bound, but when we light, we tend to spend long, lingering moments through the camera's loving eye. This is a beautiful film to see.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Mar 15, 2012

An angsty (albeit sensual) tale of great love and great loss.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 2, 2012

Tran has drained the life right out of the novel.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 2, 2012

It doesn't hit you head on so much as seep into you, and its effects linger.

| Original Score: B+ | Mar 1, 2012

It becomes a film that, like its characters, remains elusive in its motivations and therefore detached from its audience.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 1, 2012

A master of mood and visuals, Tran proves an inspired choice.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 2, 2012

There are sequences and situations I found myself floating into the celluloid.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 27, 2012

It's most likely to appeal to fans of the Haruki Murakami novel on which it's based, and they're the least likely to enjoy it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 26, 2012

The mood is downbeat and the characters are slow to warm to the audience, yet Hung creates some visually striking imagery.

| Jan 20, 2012

It's sweet all the way up, wavers in dread and slides down to doom.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 19, 2012