Superb...

Rating: Null/10 (11 September 2004)

I can't help but laugh at the number of Yanks posting bad reviews of this film. For those of you Americans who haven't traveled internationally, and there is a great number of you, you will never understand what it is to travel and live (even for a short while) in a country with a completely different culture, especially if it is a non-English speaking country. Japan is an advanced nation with a now-recovering economy, yet it is still very foreign and provides many challenges to the visitor, as highlighted beautifully by this movie. This is not an ignorant attack on Americans though, I have been to America and enjoyed my experience there very much - lots of fun to be had, lots of great food and plenty of lovely people. However, there is much ignorance, arrogance and isolation still to deal with within your own country before you can even begin to think of making opinions known on the rest of the world. This is also not a stand on Iraq, just a general thought on the outlook of Americans everywhere. Watch this movie from a travellers' point of view and see it anew...