Rosewater

A man's searches for beauty in a post-apocalyptic world.
by
Kimi Takesue
1999
13 mins

A solitary man struggles to cultivate beauty in a desolate, post-apocalyptic world. Heartbroken, he drifts in and out of a haunting dream state, envisioning the promise of regeneration. Rosewater tells a story of hope sustained through perseverance, ritual, and, ultimately, revelation. Featuring striking black-and-white 16mm cinematography and evocative sound design, Rosewater is a master class in short-form visual and auditory storytelling.

A gorgeous visual poem
Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader

Synopsis

A solitary man struggles to cultivate beauty in a desolate, post-apocalyptic world. Heartbroken, he drifts in and out of a haunting dream state, envisioning the promise of regeneration. Rosewater tells a story of hope sustained through perseverance, ritual, and, ultimately, revelation. Featuring striking black-and-white 16mm cinematography and evocative sound design, Rosewater is a master class in short-form visual and auditory storytelling.

Rosewater explores themes of cultural identity, masculinity and sustainability through a poetic and cinematic lens. This visually arresting and thought-provoking short film is an essential addition to courses in Filmmaking/ Cinematography, Asian American Studies, Visual Art, Gender Studies, Poetry, and American Culture.

Reviews
Elegant and elegiac
Sam Adams
Philadelphia City Paper
An impressive expressionistic piece filled with stark and vivid imagery, black and white cinematography of the highest order and truly memorably paced, a short dose of poetic storytelling of the highest order.
Scott Dunhahel
Providence Monthly
Rosewater by Kimi Takesue is a short that fully deserves the critical attention of a feature… Rosewater is a very formal film, arranged with the delicacy and power of a wave leaving its imprint in the sand.... In a short space the Director has used powerful tools to create a mythopoetic world that balances itself delicately against the savage modern landscape.Takesue Directed and Wrote this silent film and was Editor and Cinematographer as well. One more compliment…the use of sound in this film is outstanding. Sound is used to create brilliant transitions in the world Takesue creates. This is a film that is the work of a dedicated and serious filmmaker.
Rod Hewitt
TNT Roughcut.com

Awards and Screenings
Golden Reel/ New Visions Award- Los Angeles Asian Pacific International Film Festival
Audience Award / Best Experimental Film- Brooklyn Film Festival
Honorable Mention- New England Film and Video Festival
Television Broadcast: PBS, Through the Lens
Television Broadcast: Independent Film Channel (IFC)
Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance on the Road at the Cannes Film Festival
BBC British International Short Film Festival, London
Fant-Asia International Film Festival, Montreal
Oldenburg International Film Festival, Germany
Brno International Short Film Festival, Czech Republic
Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema
San Francisco Asian International Film Festival
Asian-American International Film Festival, NYC
Chicago Asian American Showcase
San Diego Asian Film Festival
Florida Film Festival
Atlanta Film & Video Festival
Japan Society, New York City, Recent Japanese Cinema

Features and Languages

Film Features

  • Closed Captioning

Promotional Material

Promotional Stills

A black and white composite image of a young Japanese man’s face in three-quarter profile. He has short hair and light facial hair and is wearing a suit. Behind him are tall buildings against a gray static background. A bright red rose hovers behind the buildings like the sun.
A black and white composite image of a young Japanese man’s face in three-quarter profile. He has short hair and light facial hair and is wearing a suit. Behind him are tall buildings against a gray static background. A bright red rose hovers behind the buildings like the sun.
A black and white composite image of a young Japanese man’s face in three-quarter profile. He has short hair and light facial hair and is wearing a suit. Behind him are tall buildings against a gray static background. A bright red rose hovers behind the buildings like the sun.

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