Subtle, beautiful, complex film -- perhaps not for everyone

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 2003)

A fact to keep in mind: one does not have to actually _like_ a film for it to be a good film.
This film is neither a comedy, nor specifically about Japan. I cannot grasp how anyone that understood the film could consider it to be racist. For those who found it boring, that's fine -- not everyone has a taste for intellectual films. Perhaps casting Bill Murry as a lead confused some, but in my opinion he played the role perfectly.

Finally, one scene (of many) that had a lasting impression:
In the hospital, when Bill Murray's character is trying hopelessly to communicate with the old Japanese woman, it took me a moment to find the point of the scene: not Murray, but the two Japanese women behind him laughing uncontrollably.