Restless

2011
PG-13
1h 31m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

19K

YOUR RATING

Henry Hopper and Mia Wasikowska in Restless (2011)

The story of a terminally ill teenage girl who falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals and their encounters with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII.

Play trailer2:13

5 Videos

99+ Photos

Drama Romance

The story of a terminally ill teenage girl who falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals and their encounters with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII.The story of a terminally ill teenage girl who falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals and their encounters with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII.The story of a terminally ill teenage girl who falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals and their encounters with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

19K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Trivia
The movie's first-time screenwriter Jason Lew and (co-producer) Bryce Dallas Howard attended New York University together and it was there that Lew first wrote the story as a play. Howard, who had acted in plays with Lew, got a peek at the story and encouraged him to write it as a screenplay.

Goofs
Hiroshi Takahashi says he died as a kamikaze pilot in 1941 but kamikaze tactics by Japan only began in late 1944.

Quotes
Hiroshi Takahashi: As I write this letter, the ocean breeze feels cool on my skin. That very ocean is soon to be my grave. They tell me I will die a hero. That the safety and honor of my country will be the reward for my sacrifice. I pray they are right. My only regret in life is never telling you how I feel. I wish I were back home. I wish I were holding your hand. I wish I were telling you that I have loved you, and only you, since I was a boy. But I'm not. I see now that death is easy. It is love that is hard. As my plane dives, I will not see the face of my enemies. I will instead see your eyes, like black rocks frozen in rainwater. They tell us that we must scream, "Banzai," as we plunge into our target. I will instead whisper your name. And in death, as in life, I will remain forever yours.

Alternate versions
On home video, the movie was also released as a silent version, shot specifically by Van Sant during principal photography. This version is about 15 minutes shorter than the theatrical release.

Connections
Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: Mientras Duermes, Contagio, Sin Salida (2011)

Soundtracks
Two of Us
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Beatles
Courtesy of Capitol Records LLC
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User reviews37

Review

Featured review

8/10

"Restless" is beautifully costumed, designed and photographed (Harris Savides), and gently, expertly steered by Gus Van Sant.

The type of film my good friend the Professor calls a "necromance". A touching, but never sentimental little love story produced by, among others, Ron Howard and his daughter Bryce Dallas Howard, "Restless" is beautifully costumed, designed and photographed (Harris Savides), and gently, expertly steered by Gus Van Sant. Set in Portland - which feels like a character in this film. Nice score by Danny Elfman too.

Love and loss loom large in the story of Enoch Brae (Henry - son of Dennis - Hopper), a lonely teenager haunted not only by the death of his parents in a car crash, but also that they were buried while he was in a coma. So he never had closure. He lives with Mabel (Jane Adams: his bedraggled but caring Aunt who bemoans the fact that Enoch calls him Mabel rather than Auntie) and no longer attends school after being expelled for beating up someone who dissed his deceased parents. So he spends his days attending the funerals of strangers and chatting with his imaginary friend Hiroshi (Ryo Kase) - the ghost of a WWII Kamikaze pilot.

One day he meets a beautiful, free spirited young girl named Annabel Cotton (Mia Wasikowska) at a funeral. She loves birds and the great outdoors, the two become friends and fall in love while sharing their secrets. Annebel, however, is dying of cancer and has only a few short months to live.

"Restless" probably won't work for everyone, but it charmed and moved me and it it is still floating gently around in my head a week after watching it. Jane Adams' straggly hairstyle is worth the price of admission alone, and the marvelous Mia Wasikowska (whose wonderful offbeat outfits are a credit to Oscar nominated costume designer Danny Glicker) is terrific as Annabel. Ms Wasikowska is rapidly becoming one of my favorite young actresses.

Ron Howard is one of the most successful mainstream directors in America and the lovely Bryce Dallas Howard is, after appearing with distinction in "Hereafter", " 50/50" and the box office hits "The Help" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" - a successful young actress on the cusp of major stardom, yet they find the time to make a small, relatively low budget ($8 million) non commercial film like this happen. Kudos to them.