Review of Café Lumière (2004) by Niklas S — 30 Oct 2009

This movie leaves me completely torn. On the one hand this movie is dead boring. I mean it. It's a "Holy cow, you idiot, will you please at least change the camera angle more than once every 10 minutes" kind of movie. And this is coming from me, a guy who like alternative film making, who loves it when film makers linger on a shot to let you soak it all in. But this was over the top. This film makes Yasujiro Ozu's classic film "Tokyo Story" seem like a fast-paced thrill ride.

Then there's the other hand-- the reason I would still recommend this movie to friends, especially those who have never been to Japan. This movie, more than any other contemporary TV show or film I've seen, really feels like Japan's every day life. It really did make me feel like I was a "fly on the wall" watching real Japanese places/spaces and people. That's a rare thing in a film, even if it were a documentary.

Does it show you all of Japan? Does it 100% accurately depict daily life? No. Is it set in this year or 10 years ago? Hard to tell. The very infrequent use of mobile phones in the film hints at this being set just a few years back. But now I'm nitpicking. If you don't have the opportunity to go to Japan but have always wanted to, and if you're ok with not being shown the much-glamorized by the West geisha, sushi, and Buddhist temples... if you want to see a glimpse of what Japan is like in it's daily routine, then this is the film I would tell you to watch.