Review of Japanese Story (2003) by Zach W — 28 Aug 2010

Aussie movies tend to be extremely well-crafted and generally worth seeing ("Strictly Ballroom" springs to mind), and Japanese Story is definitely one of them. It captures perfectly the cross-cultural gaps that can occur between the Japanese and Westerners, and how people's common humanity create a bridge regardless. The acting of the main characters is superb. I've known many Japanese like Hiromitsu, the Japanese salaryman who seems to have impulsively visited Australia in order to find himself. And Toni Collette. Wow! I hadn't realized that she also played in The Sixth Sense and Little Miss Sunshine, but now I'll be sure to look for her in other and future films.

The movie has a quite unexpected plot twist that, as plot twists do, threatens to split the movie, creating a different storyline in each half but the continuity was sufficient, and reinforced my regards for Collette's acting. I also liked the little touches in the movie, how Collette casually accepted Hiromitsu's businesscard ("meishi") and didn't have one of her own, but the general managers of the mines they visited performed the meishi exchange meticulously correct (both hands holding the meishi, slight bow). The managers tended to know Japanese, underscoring the Australian reliance on the Japanese market and capital. And I really enjoyed the Japanese folk music (minyou) on the sound track, played with the traditional shamisen stringed instrument. The credits said the songs were "Asadoya Bushi" and "Chinsagu no Hana." As I grow older, I find that I appreciate the plaintive and melancholy rhythm of the melodies. I'll have to get a CD!