Wonderful bittersweet comedy

Rating: 9/10 (8 October 2003)

I can say without exaggeration that this is one of the best movies I've seen this year. I've always liked Bill Murray, and here he gives an amazing performance as a jet-lagged, tired, middle-aged actor shooting a whiskey commercial in Tokyo, Japan. While at the hotel, he meets and eventually befriends a young woman (Johansson) accompanying her husband, a photographer who seems to have time for everyone except her. Two people, at two different stages in life, form a powerful bond of friendship, restricted from becoming love by the commitments each have to other people. The film does a great job alternating sequences of pure hilarity with thoughtful drama, all interspersed with glimpses of a world and culture foreign to Westerners, yet possessing a distorted familiarity which makes it fascinating - almost making you wish you were there, on the busy neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Whether you are looking for a comedy, a fine dramatic story, or a documentary of Japan, this film will serve well. Highly recommended. :)