The Japanese onsen (hot springs) experience has long been a subject of fascination, from tourists who need advice on bathing etiquette to cognoscenti who pen onsen guides. The humble ²õ±ð²Ô³Ù¨ (public bath) gets less attention, though. Once found in every urban neighborhood, ²õ±ð²Ô³Ù¨ underwent a sharp decline in the 1970s when private baths became standard in apartments and houses.
Masayuki Suzuki¡¯s heartwarming comedy ¡°Yudo¡± is a love letter to the ²õ±ð²Ô³Ù¨, offering viewers a soak in a warm bath of nostalgia, though the action is set in the present.
Based on an original script by Kundo Koyama, whose credits include the Oscar-winning drama ¡°Departures¡± (2008), the story holds few surprises, but that is not really the point. It¡¯s a pleasure to visually luxuriate in the film¡¯s ²õ±ð²Ô³Ù¨, a gem of bathhouse architecture from the Showa Era (1926-89) that Suzuki¡¯s camera explores in loving detail, from its wood-fueled furnace to the small glass bottles of milk the patrons guzzle.
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