Sarcastic and Slowly PacedA Narcissistic New Wave Type Film

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2014)

As Professional Movie Critics Pour Over Countless Films, of which most are Mediocre, Awful, and a Few that are Good to Great, it is Believably Refreshing to Encounter Off Beat and Against the Grain Film-Making and a Euphoric Sense of Finally...something Different. Praise the Lords of Movie Making.
That seems to be what has Occurred here as this Dry and Sometimes Delightful Slice of Upper Class Life has been Awarded Highest Honors Across the Board.
Some may be Bored but Anyone who Watches a lot of Films and are Formulaically Frustrated by So Much of the Same will most Likely be at least Grateful for a Change of Pace.
Pacing is the Thing here, as is a Laconic and Laid-Back Style that is Contrasted between Two nearly Catatonic Gazers and the Brightly Lit Tokyo with its Flashing Colors and Confined Spaces. Bill Murray is Spaced Out and Scarlett Johansson Relates.
These Two find Each Other and Their Pain is Subdued somewhat in a Budding Relationship of Shared Melancholia. The Nightlife, Through Karaoke and Get Together, Enliven the Displacement of Their Situation and Both manage to Rise above the Strangeness of the Land.
The Film is a Confident, if Narcissistic, View by Director/Writer Sofia Coppola, and She manages to Make a Myopic Movie that Simmers with Delight but Never really Consummates. It is all Low-Key and Frustratingly Introspective most of the Time and its Charm is Bill Murray's Performance that is Spot-On and Sarcastically Funny.
This is Japanese Bashing that could be Called Racist and most of the Humor is Laid at the Small Feet of Tokyo's Citizens. Maybe a bit too Much. It Brings the Thing Down somewhat as the Humor is often Cruel and Borderlines on Subtle Sadism.
But it is Saved by its Quiet Quirkiness and as Stated Above will be More Embraced by Those who Watch a lot of Films. Casual Viewers will Most Likely be Less Tolerant of its Glacial Pacing and Staring Stars.