Sophie, a girl from small-town South Carolina, falls in love with a Japanese gardener in 1941. Mr. Oto and Sophie, a “real lady” who never had a chance at love, slowly develop a relationship as delicate and beautiful as the bird’s wing in the Japanese folk tale that is skil. A wonderfully intersectional film, featuring love and friendship against the backdrop of WWII and the languid air of the South. People were snooping and gossiping. Still, it’s immensely rewarding to see Nicholson given a fully fleshed lead: Such a vital, insufficiently appreciated team player in the ensembles of “Black Mass” and “August: Osage County,” she brings her characteristically creased warmth and on-camera listening skills to a part that could be played for shriller melodrama. Escape the Present with These 24 Historical Romances. Sophie and the Rising Sun is a movie caught halfway between wartime homeland drama and interracial romance, and not particularly satisfying as either. I have lived in small Southern towns with these suspicions, and experienced that hatr. ", I recently bought this book at my library book sale. Reply. Trobaugh captures small-town life perfectly. by Augusta Trobaugh. It is wonderfully filmed. Virginia DeBolt says: May 8, 2017 at 7:24 am Diane Ladd was wonderful in the part. And, I fell in love with the characters, just as Sophie and Grover fell in love with each other. Sophie and the Rising Sun is a movie caught halfway between wartime homeland drama and interracial romance, and not particularly satisfying as either. The bombing of Pearl Harbor enrages the town, forcing Miss Anne and Sophie to making fateful decisions in their attempts to protect Mr. Oto. 3.5 Mr Otto is a middle aged man of Japanese ethnicity,although he was born in California and considers himself an American. They strike up an unlikely friendship but when news of Pearl Harbour reaches the town Sophie realises Mr Oto is in danger from those in the small minded town who judge people on their appearance. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Is any joy possible for Mr. Oto or Sophie? Don’t worry, it won’t take long. |, February 1, 2017 . It is romantic in the very best way, pitting the idealism of love against the cold realities of circumstance. I enjoyed the feeling evoked of sipping iced tea on the front porch as old Miss Anne regaled me with this Southern tale . Nicholson as Sophie is luminous. If the last 15 years of indie production models have hardly been kind to femme-driven projects of this delicate nature, “Sophie’s” core themes have gained an unintended degree of social urgency in a post-9/11 context: While Trebaugh’s narrative centers on the toxic hostility of American-Japanese relations in the wake of Pearl Harbor, the parallels with America’s still-rampant Islamophobia in the current century are all too recognizable. When Pearl Harbor is bombed all the small town stereotypes as well as the usual prejudices come into play. Beautiful film, wonderful acting - gorgeous movie! The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. It's a story of 2 middle aged people who both never married when they were younger and fall in love...except that it's during WWII and the man is an American-born Japanese...so you can imagine the scandal, etc. lust, or strife, just the tender approach of love for an unlikely couple. This is a gentle, elegantly told story, almost Japanese in it's simple and lyrical telling. Copyright © Fandango. Coming Soon, Regal Miss Anne is an engaging character and Mr Oto is as unassuming as this understated novel. Excerpt |  There’s always one, don’t you think? I am not sure what I was expecting when I started this book but what I got was a beautiful chaste love story between southern belle Sophie and Japanese American Mr. Oto. . | All Critics (11) Then she meets Mr Oto. FAQ There is also no language in the book except for 1 word that I can think of. And if you're curious, my other favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. There are some wonderful characters in this novel and of course a town troublemaker, who has been causing Sophie trouble most of her life. Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Her work has been funded through the Georgia Council of the Arts. | Rating: 2/4 This is for true romantics. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. Awards With beautiful cinematography, breathtaking scenery and strong characters. Alas, years have passed and no movie or sequel. It's too bad they don't write stories like this anymore. While played with reliable relish by Ladd, Ruth’s passive-aggressive villainy escalates to cartoon-gorgon levels by the pic’s final act, while the other residents of Salty Creek — apparently a female-steered community in wartime, notwithstanding the presence of a sexually abusive male sheriff — are largely shaped in her image. ". In 1943 a mysterious stranger aarriver sin Salty Creek, Georgia. With many incensed locals out for Japanese blood (though they remain uncertain of “the Chinaman’s” ethnicity), Grover is forced into hiding, while Sophie is made a town pariah. Sophie comes to us at a time when we can only benefit by the questions it raises. Spam Free: Your email is never shared with anyone; opt out any time. Mr. Oto, a quiet, unassuming, ,an beomes a gardner for Sophie, who lost her love during World War I. Sophie has resigned herself to a life craing for her aging mother and aging maiden aunts. I really enjoyed how he felt so much for the heroine without even really knowing her. An eloquent, and both captivating and terrifying story playing out on the eve of the US entry into WW II, the film connects the Jim Crow South, and racism against Japanese Americans. Movie Reviews By Reviewer Type. The author weaves the Japanese fable of the crane wife through their story, linking Mr Oto to his ancestry and his relationship with Sophie and this adds another beautiful element to this lovely tale. Bummer. |. Received with bewilderment by the townspeople, who mistake him for a Chinese immigrant, he’s placed in the reluctant care of local Missionary Ladies’ Society head Anne (Martindale), a kindly but no-nonsense widow whose chief joy in life is her florally abundant garden. When the Japanese bomb Peral Harbor, Mr. Oto's new found life comesunder seige. Regal I enjoyed the writing tremendously that I would read some sentences over and over again. [that the author trades the emotional payload of showing the lovers' fate for a mysterious, mythic ending. I had no idea what to expect from this Netgalley book. The “yellow foreigner” in this case is the distinctively named Grover Ohta (“Letters From Iwo Jima’s” Takashi Yamaguchi, making his English-lingo debut), a handsome, artistically inclined Japanese-American who arrives in Salty Creek with a violent jolt: Extensively bloodied and bruised from a racially motivated beating, he’s literally dumped in the town by a passing bus. I picked this up expecting Southern gothic and instead received a delicate treatment of overcoming social barriers when a Japanese gardner falls in love with a hometown Georgia girl during the outbreak of World War II.