bryandhispup I really loved the interaction between Tachibana and Sandy. It seemed very real. The clash of western traditions with his eastern ways seemed realistic. Although i liked the interaction I really felt like the pace of the movie was ridiculously slow. There was a lot of waiting for the next scene. It was a good Idea to include the nude scene to help make the monotony worth it. Though, it was short and lackluster. Id have to say the only absolutely great scene is when Tachibana dives in the lake and dies. While sad also humorous the way she tries many times and ways to load his dead body into the Land Rover. Withing that scene, though, was a lot of unspoken dialogue which really made it all seem like a real reaction a normal person would have.

llawson-e 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.

Atreyu_II This is a pretty poor film. It doesn't captivate much. Its story is flawed. The scenario is a mix of stunning Australian landscape and crude American background. The acting by Gotaro Tsunashima is okay as Hiromitsu, but Toni Collette's acting as Sandy is inferior in comparison to her acting in 'The Sixth Sense'. There ain't no true chemistry between the lead actors, even when they forgot all about their mutual hate and fell in love with each other.The only funnier moments are whenever the Japanese guy is saying things about Sandy on the telephone in Japanese so that she doesn't have a clue of what he is saying.The swimming scene confused me because I didn't get how the Japanese guy died. I mean, she jumped in perfectly well and he just died? And how did he get that scratch.

jreasa For a film to truly be successful with a paper-thin plot/storyline, it usually needs either: a powerful thematic point or lesson, and/or characters you know enough to either completely identify or empathize with, or at least understand. In "A Japanese Story", I got some of the first, but little to none of the second.Toni Collette's character "Sandy" carries the film (literally, I think she's in all but maybe one scene), but by the film's end I only had a slight grasp of who Sandy really was...and I didn't have the foggiest clue who "Hiromitsu" really was, the Japanese Businessman who randomly (we don't know why) decides to to boss Sandy around into driving them deep into the desert. I can only guess his whole trip was intended to be as some sort of getaway from his personal life, using "business" as something of ruse to get himself to Australia in the first place.There is a beauty to the simplicity of two strangers falling in love (well, sort of fall in love) while traveling through a desolate backdrop, but I just couldn't quite get over the hump of constantly asking myself in the back of the head "who the hell are these people and why should I care?". There didn't need to be some wild back story (Hiromitsu's upset the Yakuza and is running for his life!), but perhaps a better understanding of his position, his life back home...it would've drawn me into the story more.I gave it 6/10 because Collette had to do some serious acting and the scenery was amazing, and you can't help but feel some emotional stirring as the film develops, but there just wasn't enough "meat" to really grab me. Also, what is with the archetypal Japanese stereotypes going on this film? Not calling it outright racist...but I think the writers went a little overboard in drawing attention to the fact that we're dealing with two different cultures. Really, I can tell a Japanese from an Aussie apart, thanks.