Solid film produces unique results

Rating: 8/10 (13 April 2004)

I was one of those who liked this film. Part of the reason was that it was unlike any other film I've seen. It is funny, it is occasionally sad as it focuses on isolation in the midst of crowds, sleeplessness in a comfy hotel room. It is beautiful, but occasionally shows us the ugly side of Tokyo as well. It makes us like the characters without shirking from their dark sides.
Murray put in one of his best performances here. He is utterly believable, playing a version of himself or a Steve McQueen style reclusive star forced by his financial obligations to a Japanese liquor company to spend a week in Tokyo.
Johannsen is showing herself off very well here.... this may well be the movie that makes her mark; at the very least she will have made some kind of lasting contribution to film that will be remembered in times to come.
Not for fans of movies that dwell on "action action ACTION!", more like Swedish "slice of life" films or the Russian epics of Tarkovsky.