In a departure from the regular festival movies, The Woodsman and the Rain is a light-hearted story of a woodsman from a village in the mountains. Having lost his wife two years ago, he leads a disciplined humorless life with a teenage son who can’t stick to a job. When a film crew arrives in his small village to shoot a zombie-film, the woodsman gets unintentionally involved leading to a change in his life, as well as in the director of the movie. The director does a splendid job of infusing this tale with subtle humor throughout, and he has a winning performance in the male lead, Koji Yakusho. As the old woodsman, he does well to play the villager fascinated by being a part of the zombie-film. The film does stretch a bit — it has one too many humorous episodes — the comedic mood and lush-green setting makes for a fresh and fascinating watch.
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