AllMovie

Writer/director Hidenori Sugimori came up with Woman of Water specifically for UA, the eccentric, Björk-like Japanese pop star whose stage name combines the Swahili symbols for "flower" and "kill." Like the character she plays in the film, UA has always associated the important events in her life with water, and Sugimori regards her as something of a modern shaman. His film has the feeling of an ancient legend transposed to the present day. Even more than the characters, it is nature that is foregrounded. The two main characters, Ryo (UA) and Yusaku (Tadanobu Asano, best known for his performances in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Distance and Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer) represent, respectively, the natural elements of water and fire, and their union is a symbolic linking of these two usually opposing forces. The film's dark blue and green visual scheme and hypnotic pacing give it a floating otherworldliness entirely in keeping with its symbolic aims. A richly allegorical tale given a sumptuous visual treatment, Woman of Water creates it's own "floating world."