Hot take: Vision

There is a particular word in Japanese to describe “forest-bathing”, which is touted to be a cure for depression. ‘Vision’ takes this idea to its symbolic extreme: in it a French woman travels to a forest in Japan in search of a plant called vision that is claimed to cure man’s pain. The cinematography is wonderful, as we see the forest from all angles: aerial views, close up shots, macros, in all lights and all seasons. This is a treat for the senses and an effective substitute to an actual forest bath. The lead characters’ performances are also top-notch, with Juliette Binoche bringing empathy and gravitas to a role that could have quite frankly been laughable.

The message is simple: man’s place is one among nature, for something to be born something has to die and we forget this at our peril. But what starts of as a delightfully serene plunge into the forest and into the nature of pain derails in the second half to become full-blown esoteric gibberish. This is an experiment, but one that is worth a stroll into because its stunning images could easily beat the best nature documentaries out there.

Genre: Drama

Language: English/Japanese/French Runtime: 1h 49min Year of release: 2018 Streaming Platform: N/A

Hot take is a series in which I offer my first impressions of films from India and around the world.