The Voice of Water (2014)

"Life is strange"

The Voice of Water showed the progression of Min Jung's career from scam fortune-teller to priestess of the God’s Water cult complete with its own marketing team. Creating a cult was just another business start-up. When her deadbeat dad entered the picture, danger lurked beneath the murky water of greed.

Min Jung’s grandparents emigrated from Jeju Island to Osaka during the island’s turbulent era. Because Min Jung’s grandmother had been a shimbang, her friend Mina talks her into starting a fortune telling gig in order to earn money. When it becomes successful, the young women find themselves with a business plan and marketing team. Min Jung begins to tire of being a priestess as her conscience comes to life. Mina tells her that it doesn’t matter if she’s a sham because if people believe they are being helped, then they are. Min Jung’s father makes an unwanted appearance when he runs afoul of the local yakuza boss. Her estranged father brings trouble as well as an unstable disciple who’d like to take her place.

There was an interesting and cynical premise at the heart of this film, that religion is all about having the power to make people believe and is just another business venture. Whether the cult leaders believed what they were selling was irrelevant. Most importantly, the devotees did and eagerly handed over their hard-earned money. When Min Jung returned from a retreat as a true believer, wanting to save the world, she upset not only the business model but her business team as well.

The film did present an angle I’ve not seen used much by showcasing the Korean-Japanese community in Japan. Min Jung reconnected with her family’s past when she learned about the tragic history of Jeju Island and her grandmother’s life as a shimbang there. Archival photos from this terrible time when 30,000 people were killed and 70% of villages were burned during the clashes before, during, and right after the Korean War with the red scare were shown. Early images of Korea Town in Osaka were shown as well.

The Voice of Water wasn’t all religious scams, Min Jung’s father and his connection to the yakuza brought a malevolent touch. Fair warning, there was a rape scene and talk of sexual assaults if this is a trigger for you. The yakuza story was the least interesting part of the film for me and felt out of place unless it was to say that the crime syndicate also had its tentacles in religious cults as well. I’m sure director Yamamoto showed the reasoning behind the violent climax to the film, but whatever meaning there was attached to it eluded me.

One of the problems this film had was a rather large cast with ill-defined characters. I found it impossible to care about most of them. On her retreat into the woods, Min Jung listened to a tree and was suddenly ready to save the world. Despite her epiphany her character still came across as vague. This was due more to the writing than the acting. Hyunri gave a strong performance as the priestess with a serene façade and party girl afterwards drinking with her friends. I liked that Min Jung and her friend Mina were loyal to each other, but even this important friendship wasn’t given enough details

Fans of director Yamamoto’s other films will want to try this one. For me, there were some engaging elements teased but never fully fleshed out. Ultimately, I found Min Jung’s journey to be long and underwhelming. Water could bring rebirth and death, though enlightenment was difficult to find in the nebulous pool of business.

29 June 2024

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