Recalling his first meeting with Murakami in 2004, Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung told The Associated Press the writer was "quiet, very serious, and very careful." Muarkami finally gave the green light for the adaptation in 2008. "Murakami protected his work. He gave us two conditions.
One is that he would like to see the script. The other one is he would like to know what would be the budget for the movie," Tran said. The 47-year-old director said he first read "Norwegian Wood" in 1994. Since then, he had always wanted to make it into a movie. "I've read some other love stories, but this one is very special. The book reveals some shadows that are hidden inside of you," Tran said.
"It is about love and lost love. It's about mourning. It's about feelings of making up with life after the death of your loved ones." Set in Tokyo in the late 1960s, "Norwegian Wood" is about Watanabe, a university student who is torn between two women, Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend who committed suicide, and Midori, a self-confident and independent woman.
