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Hideki (Hiroshi Mikami), 30; Ayaka (Noriko Sakai), 28; and Nana (Maki Horikita), 5; Satomi are a
picture of a happy family returning to Tokyo aboard their car after a weekend of visit with the Grandparents. Ayaka is asked to stop by a roadside telephone booth by Hideki
who needs to e-mail what he's been working at on his laptop. At the booth, Hideki experiences a premonition: they would meet an accident resulting in Nana's
death. The premonition is made manifest by an old, torn newspaper page that Hideki finds inside the booth. In slow motion, he watches the fast breaking tragic event
unfold even as he reads the newspaper. An elaborate story of what happens in the next four years follows.
Japanese films have lately been gaining in quality and sophistication by leaps and
bounds. Technically, Premonition
could be compared with any Hollywood films. This is a horror film that exceeds the boundaries of the psychological thriller and science fiction. The story is tight and comes out clear even as it delves into realms that escapes reason or logic. The acting, directing and camera works are to the point, competent, concise and editing is almost surgically neat. The music and sound effects heighten the suspense and horror and send the audience shrieking in their seats.
A premonition or foresight of death may be incomprehensible by science, yet it cannot be denied
that it does exist, in fact, in all cultures, as testified to by people who have had—or witnessed—first hand experience of it. But instead of trying to prove the validity
of premonitions, Premonition
tries to resolve the question, "Are we controlled by destiny or do we control our fate?" We can choose our end though not our fate, it seems to say. The story also brings us to the question of freewill versus pre-destination.
Premonition, which has Japan as its setting,must be viewed in its cultural context. Our Christian faith would put more emphasis on freewill rather than
pre-destination; and death, instead of being a scary event, is seen as a gateway to eternal life.
(Date Reviewed: 10 June 2005)
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