Excellent

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2003)

This film is astounding in its simplicity. The portrayal of the growing relationship between two lost, lonely people, and the perfect resolution at the end will stay with you long after you leave the theater. If you've ever traveled to a strange place (it could be as exotic as Japan or as strange as a different region within your own country) and felt adrift, couldn't sleep, lonely, and needing another person with whom to relate, you will love this movie. I won't go into the plot - many on this venue already have - but let me share the reaction to the movie of the woman sitting next to me, because I think it illustrates this film's charm (I didn't and don't know her - the theater was full and she happened to be the in the seat): early in the film she was roaring with laughter, giggling, and chuckling at cultural collisions and the reaction on the part of the Japanese and Americans in the film. At the end, she was crying and blowing her nose into a tissue. The film isn't sad, but it isn't not sad either. It is bittersweet, because as you contemplate the film after seeing it, you'll realize any other ending would have been at the least a disappointment, and at the most a tragedy. Astounding.