One of the best of 2003

Rating: Null/10 (15 September 2003)

If you're looking for a Bill Murray "Caddyshack" or "Ghostbusters", you'll be disappointed. (But this is, after all, a Sophia Coppola film.)
If you're looking for beautiful cinematography, believable and intriguing characters and a movie that can evoke emotions without hitting you over the head, then you should definitely see this film.
At the core of the movie is the idea of "lavishing attention" and Coppola pays attentions to details that make the movie laugh-out-loud funny at times and sadly poignant at others. It's like a series of postcards from a friend lost in Japan. Or one of the ikebana arrangements it describes.
Did I mention it's beautiful?