Woman (2013)

Le combat d'une mère célibataire au Japon.

Je l’ai vu parce que ma team le traduisait, parce que j’étais tombée sous le charme de Mitsushima Hikari dans Soredemo (j’en parlerai un autre jour) et par dessus tout pour la présence d’Oguri Shun, bien que selon son habitude il ne fasse qu’un rôle secondaire, ce qu’il préfère, dit-il.
J’ai adoré ce drama, qui sait parfaitement en 11 épisodes de 45 mn mettre en place une peinture sans fard de la condition féminine au Japon (elle n’est pas rose !) et surtout du sort réservé aux familles monoparentales.
Pourquoi accorder une aide à Koharu, alors qu’elle a une mère ? Elle ne l’a pas vue depuis 20 ans, elle a été abandonnée, qu’à cela ne tienne ! elle doit s’occuper de sa fille !
Ce drama montre comment on comprend les liens familiaux au Japon : une mère peut partir en abandonnant sa fille mais elle doit s’en occuper 20 ans plus tard ! Une fois de plus, un drama japonais montre la différence fondamentale du traitement du divorce : le droit de visite, la garde partagée, il semble bien que ça n’existe pas ! En général la mère embarque l’enfant et le père disparaît de sa vie, ce qui cause de nombreux drames et suicides de pères au Japon !
Mais revenons au drama. Ici, on a la description du mal que Koharu a pour trouver du travail tout en s’occupant des ses très jeunes enfants… Parce que les crèches, les assistantes maternelles… ben y en a pas, ou alors il faut être riche ! Koharu a été brisée par la mort de Shin (moi aussi ^_^) mais elle se consacre à fond à ses enfants; et il faut remarquer le personnage magnifique de sa petite fille, qui va essayer de son mieux d’aider sa mère…
Puis Koharu retrouve sa mère, qui est remariée et a une autre fille… Le drama est une histoire de femmes, 3 femmes, mère, fille et jeune ado… L’écriture du drama retranscrit magnifiquement la difficulté de reconstruire un pont par dessus, les vingt ans d’absence, le talent des deux actrices nous fait partager, sans mélodrame, avec pudeur et finesse, l’éveil d’un nouveau lien filial… La jeune sœur, en pleine adolescence, est difficile, rebelle et finira par se libérer de son terrible secret. Ce drama est entièrement fondé sur les liens familiaux, ceux qui rendent heureux, ceux qui blessent, ceux qui se reconstruisent, et il ouvre aussi une belle perspective sur ce la paix que peut apporter le pardon, aussi difficile soit-il.
Je n’ai jamais plus pu entendre une cloche à vent (furin )sans revoir Koharu face à sa mère, dans un profond silence seulement rompu par les tintement légers et cristallins…
Un drama de femmes, fort et profond, superbement interprété, on ne l’oublie plus si on l’a vu.

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Keenly realistic, Woman illustrates the hardships of widow and single mother Aoyagi Koharu. This drama qualifies as slice of life, and as such, adopts gentle pacing; but the emotional weight exuded by the story line is no joke. Though I would dub this a must-watch of 2013, empathetic viewers should proceed carefully. Even the softer scenes, such as those sweet interactions between Koharu and her children, only serve to intensify the powerful emotional effect. For my part, much of the eleven episode duration was spent biting back tears. That said, Woman may be a painful experience for some, but ultimately still an enriching and beautiful one.

Despite flirtation with the idea of what it means to be a woman, core themes center around poverty, motherhood, and family (fractured and/or 'whole'). Many will find parallels with real life, uncanny sparks of the every day between each character interaction or plot motion. Though the story can be depressing, sometimes unrelentingly so, rays of hope peek through from unlikely places. The slow pace also works well, allowing for quiet sequences and subtle explosions to be worked in without unevenness. Unfortunately, well written as I found it, there were times an event or character seemed superfluous. A glaring example of this would be the welfare worker and his wife. Their tale felt unimportant and tacked on, the purpose served more thematic than necessary -- and even then, other characters had already fulfilled this aspect well. The Shiori character was perhaps a bit underdeveloped in the end, but her place in the plot was decidedly important.

Where have they been hiding Mitsushima Hikari? If the rest of her work is as vibrant as her portrayal of Koharu, it wouldn't be far-fetched to name her among the best actresses in Japan. Mitsushima-san delivers lines as if they were second nature; her gestures and body language are subtle and real. She positively carries this drama, though her work brought up the performances of others as well. The young ones depicting the Aoyagi children are also an absolute joy to watch. More than just precocious cuties paid to be tiny versions of adults, each of them felt like actual children. They babbled and asked questions endlessly, they cried without reason, they understood more and less than adults might want. This was especially true of Suzuki Rio, as the older Nozomi.

Fans of Oguri Shun should be happy with his solid performance, but will not want to watch Woman primarily for his sake. Shun-san is primarily seen through flashbacks, and though his character is important enough to warrant a spot as a main character, it is in the same way as a literary character might be labelled as such. The absence of his Shin is what pushes the basic conflict. There is a particular scene including him which had me bawling, though.

Musically, the drama stands strong. Orchestrations felt well-placed, especially in those scenes meant to be pivotal. These are also marked by unusual but interesting cinematographic sequences, such as an intense slow motion bit, set to an older song called "Believe." These instances were a little disconnected from the rest of the drama, but strangely effective. Though the sound of the theme song ("Voice" by androp) does not initially appear suitable, the lyrics tell another tale.

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