I've sorta been through this

Rating: 7/10 (13 September 2019)

Although not through the romance tension I hasten to add. I have a very happy relationship with my golden treasure of a wife.
I've been to China a few times now and they have a social etiquette structure very similar to the Japanese when it comes to dealing with Westerners.
Not many of them speak English and those that do always give you a very condensed version of what's been said in the local language. The problem is that they always leave out any social nuances.
You never really know what they think of you as a person because they generally see you as a strange other species, or as a novelty. They will talk about you as if you weren't in the same room and have no hesitation in excluding you from conversations with their friends.
Westerners consider that rude but it's been explained to me many times that you don't have to be included if the conversation's not about you... go figure!
And so you are... "lost".
You get no clue from the written language as to where you are, or what kind of establishment you're in, because it's not something you can voice and you have no idea as to how their alphabet works. They carry on talking to you in their own language because they assume that you can understand.
It's not all a bad experience, as they are unfailingly polite, generous and hospitable but it can be very frustrating to feel like you're the main act in a circus.
In this movie that aspect is displayed very realistically and the karaoke scenes could have been filmed in any of the social gatherings I attended during my visits. If you don't participate they just carry on as if you weren't there and assume that you must be enjoying yourself because everyone else is having a hoot.
I really like the way they capture the essence of the style of the American chain hotels in the Orient.
They are chrome, glass and velvet with low light chandeliers. They are executive themed, they always have someone on the piano throwing out muzak and each and every one that I've visited reminded me of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion.
So the director caught every subtle cultural difference and every nexus.
If I had any issue with the film at all, it's that it does leave you feeling unresolved, but I think that's Sofia's point.
Murray and Johansson put in excellent performances, they are like air bubbles floating in a champagne glass, which is how I felt most of the time I was in that part of the world.
The story will mean much more to people who have already travelled to countries with completely different symbols for writing and expressing ideas.