Oddly absorbing

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2016)

This might be the most relaxing movie I've ever seen - though it's not boring, and I think that's an important distinction. But it has a calming effect despite its abject melancholic ending.
Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson share a touching chemistry as two restless souls in a foreign land. And the movie belongs to them. But how often do you see Tokyo seen as a mystifying culture as confusing as it is dreamlike? I guess "Black Rain", but this is a much more subtle (and unnerving) depiction. It all feeds into the movie's sense of alienation and humor, both of which this pretty much nails.
It's a great movie all around; a fine example of midlife ennui.
8/10