Darkness in Norwegian Wood

 While Jade and I were watching the movie this past weekend we were constantly commenting on how dark the movie was, it seemed like the characters in the movie never turned the lights in their houses on. While this was just a lighthearted comment we kept making while watching, I think it was actually a very good decision in terms of establishing the mood and tone of the movie. I think that the lack of light and the sort of blue tones that come with it created a real sense of foreboding in the movie--the viewer can sense that there is some sort of tragedy ahead. Additionally, I think the darkness of especially the indoor spaces adds to the common theme in Murakami's works of the doom and gloom of modern life. Watanabe's dorm was often lightless, as were Naoko and Midori's apartments. This created a sense of lifelessness to their urban lives.

The prevalence of darkness made moments of light stand out even more in the movie. Two instances I can think of are when Watanabe is visiting Naoko at the sanatorium and when they are celebrating Naoko's birthday. In this two scenes, however, the light seems to create very different moods. 

When Watanabe gives Naoko her birthday cake it is lit up with candles, which illuminates her face in the otherwise dark apartment. The candles give off a warm, yellowy glow that just illuminates the two character's faces. Thus, there is a sense of intimacy and closeness that the light creates. For a brief moment the audience sees an incredibly tender connection between two people. This is later broken: the candles are blown out and Naoko and Watanabe have sex that then leads to catastrophe. 

The other instance of light in contrast to the typical darkness is when Watanabe visits Naoko at the sanatorium during the winter. The two of them walk around in the snow and because of the remote location, the snow is a pristine, glaring white. It has none of the warmth and intimacy that the birthday candles had but instead comes off as cold and clinical. I think this shows the distance that has grown between Naoko and Watanabe. Try as they might, they deal with Kizuki's death in very different ways, and in the end Naoko cannot come to terms with his death. 

Maggie