Have They Forgotten About Reiko?

     As always, I think reading the book before watching the movie adaptation is the best way to enjoy the movie. I binge read Norwegian Wood and followed suit by finishing the movie right after the showing in class. I was happy to see the actors saying direct lines from the book and that the images and scenes I imagined in my head were very similar in the movie. However, I do think the movie focused too much on summarizing the book as many important elements were left out. Why was there so few scenes with Storm Trooper? He would have added some humor to the movie. Why was the scene of the fire in Midori's neighbor left out? That would have shown more growth in the relationship between Watanabe and Midori. But most importantly, why was Reiko so neglected from the movie's plot?

    From reading the book, I actually became quite fond of Reiko and how she is the mother role in the book. She takes good care of Naoko, makes Watanabe feel comfortable around her, and helps write letters for Naoko. She acted like the guardian for both Naoko and Watanabe and only showed positivity. She smoked more than she ate and didn't find anything negative about that situation. She also let Watanabe and Naoko be alone even though she should be chaperoning them. But there were two scenes that defined her in the book that the movie couldn't put a light on.

    In the book, Reiko tells Watanabe about the story with her student being a lesbian and doing sexual acts on Reiko. She tells him that it is one of the reasons why she is in the sanatorium. It showed how similar she is to Naoko as there are things that she is facing within her that she has trouble controlling. Even though she had to go through a traumatizing event, she shows so much positivity in the book. However, the movie did not include that story and made Reiko have a character without any depth. All she did in the movie was greet Watanabe, play her guitar, be present in some scenes, and have sex with Watanabe at the end of the movie.

    What upset me the most is how they changed the sex scene between Watanabe and Reiko. In the book, it was very mutual between them that they wanted to have sex, but in the movie, Reiko asked Watanabe to have sex with her and he was shocked. He asked her several times if she was serious and Reiko could only nod in silence. It almost seems as if the movie has silenced her and the only times she talks is when she has a favor to ask. Then the scene ends with her thanking Watanabe and then she leaves his apartment. She insists on walking to the station alone and this is the last time we see her in the movie. In the book, Watanabe takes her to the station and even kisses her goodbye. All that was excluded from the movie.

    Reiko had a strong presence in the book and had a strong background story that shocked a lot of readers like me. It was unfortunate that much of her character was not shown in the movie. It seemed as if they had to make room to include her in the movie. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie, but I wish they would have had added more of Reiko's story to the plot.

Sonia