Not good, but not bad.

Rating: 5/10 (27 July 2006)

The two main characters, Bob and Charlotte, are bored, lonely, having marriage problems, and are both "lost" in Tokyo in the same hotel. That's a good enough idea for a movie or play, and when the added intrigue of a fall/spring relationship between an older man and very young and nubile woman is added to the formula the possibilities are endless. Too bad this flick never delivered and remained a tepid peck on the cheek lets have a little fun and go our separate ways forbidden fruit never eaten or even touched listless foray into dismal boredom for all. I kept waiting for the plot or the dialog or the acting to invoke some kind of response from me, but all I got was a fuzzy sleep walk with beautiful cinematography and excellent cityscapes of Tokyo, but no emotional connection with any of the characters, which I gathered was the point of the movie. I have seen this movie twice, and the second watching didn't change my initial take on it.
If the point was for these two characters to have a chance encounter in a foreign land and alleviate each others creeping malaise, it works, up to a point. But the sparks never flew, and the fact that they never had sex and only exchanged a few awkward hugs and a couple of clumsy kisses leaves me scratching my head in dismay. The story didn't even have them going at it hot and heavy and on the verge of sex only to have them draw back at the last second, thus titillating the viewer without consummating, but we didn't even get that far. This situation had so much potential, but so little exploration of that potential.
On the plus side, again, the cinematography was superb, and we did get a look at Japanese culture in the post modernist age that is relatively accurate, which does redeem the director to some extent. But even then I can only give it a C grade.