PRODUCTION DESIGN | 2005
Director DAVID TAMAGI, producer MICHAEL PARKER, lead actor BRENDAN FLETCHER
Keiko (Misa Shimizu The Eel, Cannes Palme d'Or 1997, Warm Water Under a Red Bridge, Cannes 2001) is a radiantly beautiful Japanese woman in her 30's, as mysterious as she is lovely. She and her wealthy Chinese husband (John Lone Bertolucci's The Last Emperor), arrive at a remote corner of the Pacific Northwest close to a small struggling fishing village -- a land unlike anything she has experienced before. Keiko's marriage is troubled, and she distracts herself from her loveless state by folding images of the world she sees around her into delicate origami sculptures.
Keiko wakes up one day to find her husband gone - she has been abandoned. Determined not to be a victim, she takes control of her life. Arriving to town, she meets two men: Vern (Sebastian Spence, Crossing, Dawson's Creek), the handsome local authority, and Hart (Brendan Fletcher Terry Gilliam's Tideland ), a rugged youth of about 19.
Hart is the son of Bill (Philip Granger Flower & Garnet, Lunch With Charles), a local fisherman who is notorious for his drunken binges. Innocent and earnest by nature, Hart has higher aspirations than his sleepy Island community can satisfy. He wants to move to the city to attend school, but there's no money for such an endeavor. Running an errand for the local hardware store leads him to Keiko's remote house where he is offered a glimpse into Keiko's world.
At first sight, Hart is enchanted by Keiko's elegance and exotic beauty and the two engage in an unlikely, platonic relationship. He tries to find out more about her husband, but Keiko reveals nothing. When alone, Keiko experiences a feeling of entrapment. An encounter with Vern sparks a longing for intimacy that has long been missing from her life. The meeting has a profound effect on Vern, and he begins to question his own stale marriage. As their friendship blossoms, Hart feels hurt and betrayed when he thinks that Vern might be having an affair with Keiko.
Keiko's affect on the two men is profound, and she is herself forever changed by her stay there. When Keiko decides she must leave, Hart and Keiko's relationship turns torrid.
Keiko wakes up one day to find her husband gone - she has been abandoned. Determined not to be a victim, she takes control of her life. Arriving to town, she meets two men: Vern (Sebastian Spence, Crossing, Dawson's Creek), the handsome local authority, and Hart (Brendan Fletcher Terry Gilliam's Tideland ), a rugged youth of about 19.
Hart is the son of Bill (Philip Granger Flower & Garnet, Lunch With Charles), a local fisherman who is notorious for his drunken binges. Innocent and earnest by nature, Hart has higher aspirations than his sleepy Island community can satisfy. He wants to move to the city to attend school, but there's no money for such an endeavor. Running an errand for the local hardware store leads him to Keiko's remote house where he is offered a glimpse into Keiko's world.
At first sight, Hart is enchanted by Keiko's elegance and exotic beauty and the two engage in an unlikely, platonic relationship. He tries to find out more about her husband, but Keiko reveals nothing. When alone, Keiko experiences a feeling of entrapment. An encounter with Vern sparks a longing for intimacy that has long been missing from her life. The meeting has a profound effect on Vern, and he begins to question his own stale marriage. As their friendship blossoms, Hart feels hurt and betrayed when he thinks that Vern might be having an affair with Keiko.
Keiko's affect on the two men is profound, and she is herself forever changed by her stay there. When Keiko decides she must leave, Hart and Keiko's relationship turns torrid.
