In Love and Deep Water, directed by Yûsuke Taki, is a romantic thriller shrouded in mystery. The cast includes Ryo Yoshizawa, Aoi Miyazaki, and other efficient actors who have done justice to the plot of the film. The Japanese film introduces Ubukata, an efficient butler on a luxurious cruise, and a passenger, Chizuru Banjaku. The way they gradually develop feelings for each other on their quest to resolve a mystery is unexpected. Will they be able to detangle their love lives? Will they be able to resolve the murder that takes place on the cruise? Is it true that love brings one closer to death? A lot of mysteries are yet to be unfolded!
Spoilers Ahead
What Message Does Chizuru Convey To Ubukata?
Ubukata, a skilled butler, is seen efficiently handling all the tantrums of the passengers on the cruise. His life changes when Chizuru Banjaku, a mysterious lady, gets on board. Chizuru is given a warm welcome by Ubukata. She tries to find the room of Wakaba, Ubukata’s girlfriend, who was also supposed to be on board. Ubukata tells her that Wakaba was not on board because she had some urgent work. On finding out that Ubukata is Wakaba’s boyfriend, she tells him that she was cheating on him with another man in Japan. She further reveals that the man was her boyfriend, whom she was cheating on. Ubukata does not believe her initially, but later, when she shows some texts that were exchanged, he is convinced. Chizuru was intent on getting off the ship after learning that Wakaba was not in it but was dissuaded by Ubukata as the ship had already set sail.
What Is The Reason Behind Sohei Kuruma’s Murder?
Sohei Kuruma, the godfather of the medical world, was on board. He was a well-known doctor and had a well-known personality. However, his stained family relations are revealed when we hear him conversing with his son about giving away all his property to his housemaid, Sakumoto. He was trying to wash off his sins of doing something really bad. His daughter-in-law takes him out for a spin on the deck, and he tells her that he was aware that Rena was not his own granddaughter but was the child of some other man. He asks her to take René and walk out of his family. Just as he says it, he is pushed into the water and drowned by his daughter-in-law. There were a few witnesses who had seen Sohei being pushed into the water but could not see the murderer’s face. The body of Sohei is being tried to be hidden by his son, as he wants to change his father’s will. Ubukata was a witness to the crime, and he tried to uncover the murder.
Why Do The Witnesses Not Help The Case?
When Ubakata tries reporting the murder to the captain, they do not find the dead body and think that he is just being delusional. When he summons the witnesses, they deny having seen any incident. Chizuru was also a witness, and when she is later confronted by Ubukata for not having confessed, she says that the child, Kanato, had been traumatized, and that’s why she did not reveal anything. Later, they decide to investigate the case on their own and approach the other witnesses. They approach Ryuki and Shiori, a couple who were witnesses, and they say that they were on the run from Shiori’s father, a mafia boss. Ryuki was a part of his clan, but later, when Shiori fell in love, he disapproved of their marriage. They said that they were on the run and, therefore, did not want to be involved in the case.
They also found out that the other couple who had been involved in the case were Aina Horikawa, a famous producer, and her boyfriend. She was engaged to someone else and wanted to keep her illicit affairs a secret; hence, she did not want to be involved in the case. Later, when Sakumoto finds out that Sohei’s body has been hidden by his son, she is pushed off the stairs by Sohei’s son, sending her into a coma. The case was tried to be suppressed by the Kuruma family, but Ubukata and Chizuru were intent on resolving the mystery.
Who Is The Real Murderer?
When Ubukata and Chizuru further investigate the case, they find out that Sohei was not killed in the first attempt by his daughter-in-law to drown him. When they confront the Kuruma family about the murder, the husband and wife start blaming each other. The husband reveals that his wife had murdered his father, as he had come to know about her illicit affair, and he had set up his men to take clips for him. They saw two clips of the murder incident, one on Sohei’s son’s phone and the other on Aina’s phone, which had been taken accidentally while she was taking a video of herself. They find that the moon was not in the same position when the murder happened, which means that there were two murder attempts on Sohei.
The magician, who was on board with the people and had tried enticing them with his magic skills, owns up to the murder. He reveals that Sohei, who was a great doctor, was involved in the organ transplant business. He had killed his wife during an operation many years ago to steal one of her organs and earn money out of it. He had gotten his ultimate revenge by taking Sohei’s life.
What Will Happen To Ubukata And Chizuru?
In the course of resolving the murder mystery, Ubukata and Chizuru eventually develop feelings for each other. They plan on clicking a picture of themselves in a romantic position together and sending it to their respective lovers. However, before they do so, Chizuru is contacted by her boyfriend, and he confesses everything to her and says that he was almost about to cheat on her but did not. She decides to go back to her boyfriend after getting down at the next halt, but is stopped by Ubukata. He tells her that almost cheating and cheating are the same thing! She, however, does not listen to him initially but later realizes her feelings for Ubukata and decides to come back to him before the ship sets sail again. They didn’t even realize when they had taken a liking to each other while solving a murder mystery together.
Final Thoughts
In Love and Deep Water has intonations of class segmentation. As Ubukata was a butler, he was treated as an inferior by the passengers on board. It was Chizuru who had not discriminated against him and taken a liking to him, despite his profession. This film brings out the fact that love sees no social barriers or class! We see Kanato being mistreated by Rene initially because of his class. He also says that Rene and he could never be friends because they were not from the same class. The issue of social disparity has been pinpointed in this film. The film, however, ends on a happy note, with a resolution to all the class issues and the unveiling of the murder mystery. This film is an example of how murder mystery and romance can go hand in hand, hence justifying the point of introducing the sirens in the beginning. Love involves a lot of risk and can kill, indeed! The dangerous journey that the two lovers had embarked on could have gotten them killed, but they eventually managed to overcome the perils together!
