Even in the career of Sogo Ishii (later Gakuryu Ishii) - where storyline and structure are often side-lined for atmosphere, mood and general carnage - 1995's "August in the Water" is something of an enigma. Made in the mid-Nineties, where his three feature films were slow-paced, dreamlike mood pieces, it is a bright and colourful burst in the middle of the dark and gloomy "Angel Dust" (1994) and the monochrome coma of "Labyrinth of Dreams" (1997), though has a deliberately complex storyline to leave you as equally lost as its characters.
The plot is perhaps the weakest element of the film and towards its conclusion is more a series of moments than anything coherent, ranging from the silly to the fantastical and mysterious. Diving star Izumi (Rena Komine) joins Mao (Shinsuke Aoki) and Ukiya's (Masaaki Takarai) school, with Mao immediately drawn to her. Mysteriously failing an attempt at a dive, Mao dives in the pool to save Izumi, resulting in her being in a coma.
On waking, she is drawn to the remains of an old meteor in a nearby forest, becoming elusive and difficult to pin down. She is now drawn to a different world. Meanwhile, in the city, the hot summer drought sees people randomly collapse with 'stone disease,' where internal organs turn to stone. Bringing in elements of astrology also, little is fully developed or explained, leaving us in the position of Mao, wondering what is going on in Izumi's mind.
But this confusion is beside the point, or maybe it is the point. "August in the Water" is an atmosphere of teenage anxiety at finding your place in the world, with Norimichi Kasamatsu's cinematography and Hiroyuki Onogawa's soundtrack blending to create an intangible quality of intrigue and questions the script will never answer directly.
Ishii's use of continual background soundtrack gives every scene a dreamlike quality of another world, removing you from your senses. Indeed, you will easily find yourself gazing blankly at the screen while the film seeps into your system. Combined with the slow-pacing, this hypnotises the audience, leaving them numb as to what they have just seen, unable to explain, yet fully at ease.
The shot composition is also impressive, feeling like that of a film with a much bigger budget. The diving scenes use numerous aerial shots, quickly edited together, making the sport look the most impressive it has ever been. Aerial and night-time shots of the forest are also beautifully constructed, with a look to match the emotion. The heat of the urban landscape is also captured, as wavey shots of people collapsing on the streets make this truly reflect the heat of August.
While certain scenes may feel like those that have come before (list your own famous Japanese shots of women walking into water), along with "Angel Dust," this shows Ishii is a director pushing limits and taking risks. The plot is too enigmatic, introducing too many complex elements with little offer of explanation. But this risk pays off in how it leaves the audience. You simply give up on trying to follow and explain, and simply lose yourself within. By the final scene, you are absorbed to the point to feel its full impact, as Izumi impacted Mao.
"August in the Water" in a mystery that you just can't explain, finding yourself drawn back to it to relive that sense all over again.
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