Watch The Garden of Evening Mists

The Garden of Evening Mists is a 2019 movie based on the novel by the same name written by Tan Twan Eng. The film takes place in Malaysia during the 1940s and 1980s and follows the story of a young law graduate named Yun Ling Teoh (played by Angelica Lee). The movie opens with Yun Ling, who is suffering from a terminal illness, returning to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia after many years. She is determined to document her experiences and memories within the war-torn and tumultuous period of her life. In her journey, she visits the gardens of the valley where she had spent her youth.

In the flashbacks to her younger days, the audience is shown Yun Ling's life during the 1940s, a time when Japanese soldiers had taken over Malaysia. Yun Ling and her sister, both ethnic Chinese, were captured by Japanese soldiers during a raid on their school. Her sister died while trying to escape, and Yun Ling was taken as a prisoner of war. Later on, as a result of an act of bravery, Yun Ling managed to escape, but the experience left her traumatized and affected her for the rest of her life.

As an adult, Yun Ling decides to visit the Cameron Highlands to fulfill the promise she made to her sister before she died, to commemorate the bond they shared. There she meets a Japanese gardener named Nakamura Aritomo (played by Hiroshi Abe), a former soldier, and a disciple of the legendary Chinese gardener and artist, Yun Ling's name sake, Matsuo Yun. Aritomo, who is known for his stunning Japanese gardens in the area, refuses to become Yun Ling's gardener but eventually agrees to teach her to create her own garden.

Through their lessons, Yun Ling discovers that Aritomo has a mysterious past in which he played a part in the construction of a Japanese war memorial. Her curiosity leads her to learn more about the story, the builders of the war memorial, and the secrets of the garden of evening mists.

As the two work together on the garden, Yun Ling and Aritomo form an unexpected bond. The complexities of their relationship, the beauty of the garden that they construct, and the painful memories of the war are all intertwined in this emotional and engrossing tale.

Throughout the movie, the theme of memory and the ways in which it shapes us as individuals is prevalent. Yun Ling, who is losing her memory due to her illness, begins to reflect on her life, and the audience is shown a story of a woman who has been affected by her traumatic experiences in the war. Aritomo's history also shows the devastating effects of war on individuals and communities.

The Garden of Evening Mists is a beautiful and profound movie, visually stunning and emotionally charged. The performances by the main cast, Angelica Lee, Hiroshi Abe, and Sylvia Chang, are superb, and they bring to life the complex and nuanced characters in the story. It is a tale of love, loss, and redemption, with twists and turns that keep the audience engaged and invested in the story until the very end.

In conclusion, The Garden of Evening Mists is a poetic and heartwarming story that takes the viewer on a journey through the complexities of human relationships, personal history, and traumatic experiences. It is undoubtedly one of the best movies of 2019 and is not to be missed.