Japanese Story (2003)

Nice effects though.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Geologist Sandy Edwards (Toni Collette) is stuck with babysitting Hiromitsu Tachibana around the Australian desert looking at mining operations. He's the son of the boss of a giant Japanese conglomerate. She's hoping to sell them her computer program. He's demanding, clueless and insecure. She's loud. There is a cultural and language barrier. They get stuck out in the middle of the desert. They fall for each other and then it all ends.Hiromitsu is off-putting. If the movie is simply about them ending up in a life altering friendship, this would be a great movie. The cultural differences are a little too silly at times. The romance is really silly. These two characters have so little chemistry that they may have negative chemistry. It is to the credit of Toni Collette that it works in any fashion at all. After the "incident", she gets to stretch out and the movie turns into something more.

I was not sure if I could get into the story line of the movie at first. I didn't want to keep watching it until halfway through. At that point I became emotionally attached to the characters. I ended up loving the movie! It's a beautiful and surprising film that makes you feel the emotions the characters are going through. There were several times I was shocked as to what turns the movie makes. If you want to enjoy the movie have an open mind. It's a little confusing at times but keep watching!I enjoyed watching the cultural differences and how the interactions between the characters unfolded. More than anything the movie captures emotions and feelings between two people that unexpectedly found love.

I actually don't know why I watched the whole thing. It's very serious and awkward. Especially the sex scene when the woman takes off her clothes, then puts HIS pants on? I'm not sure what was going on here, but I just couldn't get into it. Someone said it was a lot like the Painted Veil, and yes, maybe so except for the fact that I liked the Painted Veil. There's little music. And the whole movie was just bad and poorly put together... it doesn't seem very cohesive to me. It didn't make sense.... after they do it while she wears his pants, she asks to get her things back from his room. So she carries her bra, in her hands, out in the open, back to her car. I've been stuck in the desert before too and everyone knows you put rocks or sticks or something hard underneath the tires... they just clowned around. BAD movie. Bad. Bad. Bad.

As Alfred Hitchkock used to say "It's only a movie!", so what's a few stereotypes among friends? If you want real life, watch Reality TV, or go home and have a TV dinner in front of the Boob Tube. Didn't you ever hear of "suspension of reality"? It's not supposed to be real!The relationship doesn't seem real but seems possible, and the sequence of events is moving - more moving than the reality of the nightly news. So, what better way to get in touch with your emotions than by watching a modern fairy tale? Some things are not meant to be - to echo the words of Kipling. And in our case, North is North, and South is South, and never the twain shall meet.