Japanese Story
(2004)
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This romantic drama stars Toni Collette as Sandy, a high-strung Australian geologist assigned to escort Japanese businessman Hirotmitsu (Gotaro Tsunashima) on a tour through the outback. Ostensibly he's there to visit the various mines his company co-owns, but his real motives are mysterious and soon he is urging her to drive deep into the middle of the Pilabra Desert. A mutual dislike for one another, enhanced by vast cultural differences keep them at arm's length at first, but when their jeep gets mired in sand in the middle of nowhere, their fight for survival leads them towards a deep human connection. They find themselves falling in love as they drift aimlessly amidst the desolate beauty of the area, but soon comes a sudden, unexpected shock. |
Probably best summed up by John Lennon's observation that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans, Sue Brooks's emotionally devastating film starts out as a relatively unpromising culture-clash romance, before becoming something unexpectedly profound. Geologist Toni Collette is saddled with an initially arrogant and cold Japanese businessman (Gotaro Tsunashima) for a research trip into the hostile Australian outback. Forced to survive a night in the freezing desert, an odd and tender relationship develops between the two. But then the drama suddenly shifts gear, forcing the viewer to re-evaluate both their own basic assumptions and those of the characters. To reveal any more would ruin this carefully constructed, intelligent and well-acted film, but what can be said is that as a depiction of the odd curve balls life can throw, Japanese Story is probably all but unsurpassable.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Enmgrossing drama that begins as a clash between two cultures, one formal, the other casual, and then unexpectedly develops into a moving and emotional study of a woman in crisis.