Film : The Garden Of Evening Mists (2020)

The Garden of Evening Mists

a Malaysian English drama film. Set in 1940s Malaya, a woman survives the traumatic Japanese war camp. To build a garden for her sister who dies, she travels to Cameron Highlands, and become student to a mysterious Japanese gardener, while their forbidden love relationship blooms.

The 1940s Malaya was once occupied by the Japanese army. Local women Teoh Yun Ling and her sister are imprisoned and tortured in a brutal Japanese war camp. After the war, Yun Ling survives the horror, but her sister did not. Haunted by her sister's tragic death, she travels to Cameron Highlands to meet the mysterious renowned Japanese gardener, Nakamura Arimoto. The gardener resides there and is building Yugiri, a small Japanese garden. She decides to learn from him and build a garden to pay tribute of her late sister. As garden slowly growing on the tea hills, tender feelings between them blossoms to a forbidden love affair, that changes hatred and belief.

The background of the film is set in 1940s and 1950s of Malaysia. During the period, the country was a British colony, known as British Malaya. In 1942, the Japanese army occupied Malaya, forcing British to retreat. Malaya was ruled by Japanese army for three years, until 1945 after Japan surrendered. The British then returned to occupy, while independence movement rose. In 1948, conflict between British army and Malayan communist party led to irregular guerrilla wars until 1960. Malaya was declared emergency for these 12 years.