Movie Review: Japanese Story

This is an interesting romance/drama film that has an abrupt, shocking twist at the end. Japanese Story is a good film that perhaps wanders a bit before leaving you to think about many things in life. The acting is good and the scenery of the outback is interesting and lovely. Overall, I found this a good film worth the watching some afternoon when you have time to think about it afterward.

Plot: Sandy who is a geologist for an Australian company is commandeered to be the driver/babysitter for Hiromitsu, a Japanese businessman whose business is a major client company for Sandy's Company. She is just supposed to take him to be wine and dined by the company officials at the different mines. But after a couple days of seeing the official tour, Hiromitsu commands Sandy to take him driving into the space or the desert of Australia. They find themselves in a situation that causes a bond to form between them despite the cultural and language differences and despite the fact they get on each other's last nerve. They then play hooky from their lives and do some sight seeing in Australia and some growing and bonding. But then something happens in the desert that will change both of their lives forever.

This is quite a good movie even though it is not plot heavy, it is character development heavy, and therefore the plot moves a bit slowly and there not a lot of action. Since that is the case, many may think this moving is boring.

Since this movie hinges on the characters, it's very important that the acting be well done in this film and it is especially in the case of Toni Collette. It fascinating to watch her character change and develop as she learns from this life experience. You can see it in her face and it her person. This was a phenomenal performance. Gotaro Tsunashima plays Hiromitsu. I liked his performance, but it wasn't as good as Toni's but I don't think he had as much to work with. We don't know as much about this character and he is trapped more in the character type of what we think a Japanese Business man should be. He then has little room to learn and grow in the way that Toni's character does. The rest of the characters are minor such as Sandy's boss or best friend but overall all the acting was well done.

I thought this was a well-done film. I enjoyed it; it was an interesting journey that surprised me with its twist at the end. It also gave me lots to think about, which is a rare thing in a film these days. If you are looking for an escape film full of action or a romance that ends happily ever after, then move on this film is not for you. But if you are looking for something that makes you think about people and life or a good film for a discussion then this film is definitely up your alley.