Good subject, good acting, but empty, slow and bland throughout

Rating: 3/10 (27 October 2005)

Nobody can't deny that the two actors are trying their best at it. And that Japan and its people have this undeniable charm.
BUT COME ON! It's simply a very sluggish and boring movie! You watch and watch, constantly expecting some clever twist that will never come.
As so many people have already put it, had that movie been shot by an unknown director, nobody would have ever heard of it. Clearly, this movie and her director don't deserve all the awards and praises they got. It only further revealed Hollywood's own bigotry. Not to mention the occasional silly preconception about Japanese people.
Sophomoric.