**Spoilers**
In Japanese Story, Toni Collette plays Sandy, a geologist who grudgingly indulges an affluent Japanese businessman's whim, which involves her driving him around the Australian outback. While in the desert however, two events occur which change both of them completely.
I was attracted to this film mainly because of the good reviews Toni Collette had received for her role in the movie. On that level at least, the film did not disappoint, with Collette giving one of the stand out performances of the last year as Sandy. Her confidence and completely natural, unlaboured performance heavily contrasts with the movie's self-consciously artificial narrative.
Here, the problem with Japanese Story lies. The first two thirds of the movie is fine, if a little slow and occasionally self-indulgent. There are some brilliant moments lying within however, such as a beautifully crafted love scene and some genuinely tender moments in the outback. Also, importantly, the fist two thirds of the film do not feel constructed.
The last third of the film showcases some of the worst tricks of screen writing. The writer decides that pseudo-reality is so passe, so decides instead to continuously bombard the audience with inverted images, images which were presented to us in the first two thirds as positive or humorous things, but in the second half are supposed to be sad and tragic. An example is to do with Tachibana's body. A scene in the first half depicts Collette struggling to force her accomplice's body into the car, while he is in a drunken state. In the final third this scene is mirrored to the point of frustration, as Collette performs the same action, but this time with his dead body. From this, I can only presume, we are supposed to look back at the other time and see, as the song goes, what a difference a day, or a couple of days make. This trick is repeated several more times. Instead of giving the film a kind of consistency, this feels laboured and completely artificial, making us lose faith entirely in any concept of believability. It seems too fussy, too unrealistic and too convenient a vehicle to deliver some of the films messages to the audience.
By the end of the film you feel cheated. The director seems to bolster each of the last few films with irritating, manipulative music, hammering into your head how much of a tragedy the whole thing is. We get very little plot in the final third, and an entirely implausible event involving Tachibana's wife, in the film's final moments, seems to strip away any shred of dignity the film was still clawing on to.
The final third also possesses a horribly voyeuristic quality. The director seems obsessive in her depiction of Collette's grief, exposing the character so pitilessly, it wouldn't look out of place in a Lars Von Trier movie. The extended agony of some of these scenes is horrendous, and above all, gratuitous. What dramatic purpose does this depiction of grief serve, for example?
All of this is a shame, really. Japanese Story has some very smart direction, some beautiful cinematography and an outstanding performance from Collette. Yet we feel cheated, manipulated and unsatisfied by the film's outcome.
In Japanese Story, Toni Collette plays Sandy, a geologist who grudgingly indulges an affluent Japanese businessman's whim, which involves her driving him around the Australian outback. While in the desert however, two events occur which change both of them completely.
I was attracted to this film mainly because of the good reviews Toni Collette had received for her role in the movie. On that level at least, the film did not disappoint, with Collette giving one of the stand out performances of the last year as Sandy. Her confidence and completely natural, unlaboured performance heavily contrasts with the movie's self-consciously artificial narrative.
Here, the problem with Japanese Story lies. The first two thirds of the movie is fine, if a little slow and occasionally self-indulgent. There are some brilliant moments lying within however, such as a beautifully crafted love scene and some genuinely tender moments in the outback. Also, importantly, the fist two thirds of the film do not feel constructed.
The last third of the film showcases some of the worst tricks of screen writing. The writer decides that pseudo-reality is so passe, so decides instead to continuously bombard the audience with inverted images, images which were presented to us in the first two thirds as positive or humorous things, but in the second half are supposed to be sad and tragic. An example is to do with Tachibana's body. A scene in the first half depicts Collette struggling to force her accomplice's body into the car, while he is in a drunken state. In the final third this scene is mirrored to the point of frustration, as Collette performs the same action, but this time with his dead body. From this, I can only presume, we are supposed to look back at the other time and see, as the song goes, what a difference a day, or a couple of days make. This trick is repeated several more times. Instead of giving the film a kind of consistency, this feels laboured and completely artificial, making us lose faith entirely in any concept of believability. It seems too fussy, too unrealistic and too convenient a vehicle to deliver some of the films messages to the audience.
By the end of the film you feel cheated. The director seems to bolster each of the last few films with irritating, manipulative music, hammering into your head how much of a tragedy the whole thing is. We get very little plot in the final third, and an entirely implausible event involving Tachibana's wife, in the film's final moments, seems to strip away any shred of dignity the film was still clawing on to.
The final third also possesses a horribly voyeuristic quality. The director seems obsessive in her depiction of Collette's grief, exposing the character so pitilessly, it wouldn't look out of place in a Lars Von Trier movie. The extended agony of some of these scenes is horrendous, and above all, gratuitous. What dramatic purpose does this depiction of grief serve, for example?
All of this is a shame, really. Japanese Story has some very smart direction, some beautiful cinematography and an outstanding performance from Collette. Yet we feel cheated, manipulated and unsatisfied by the film's outcome.
Tell Your Friends