Snow Falling on Cedars

Supremely cinematic, director Scott Hicks' prestige follow-up to Shine is a richly drawn, passionate adaptation of David Guterson's period drama in which the railroaded murder trial of a Japanese-American in post-war Washington state becomes a backdrop for a story about the lasting scars of injustice. Ethan Hawke stars as a reticent newspaperman and war vet who covers the trial and pursues the truth on his own while becoming awash in memories of his forbidden first love--with a Japanese girl (Youki Kudoh) who is now the defendant's wife. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)