While Imamura films generally have their droll moments, this is the most blatantly comic work he's done since the '80s -- richly entertaining and suggestive of any number of metaphorical readings.
80
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Imamura has said that Warm Water Under a Red Bridge is a poem to the enduring strengths of women. It may also be the best sex comedy about environmental pollution ever made.
75
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
A rather luminous movie on the power of love.
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
One never knows where "Warm Water" is going and even though the film's objective feels a little fuzzy even at the end a parable on female sexuality? an ode to liberty? there's such a joy in the telling that it doesn't matter terribly.
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This story is unthinkable in a Hollywood movie, but there is something about the matter-of-fact way Saeko explains her problem, and the surprised but not stunned way that Yosuke hears her, that takes the edge off.