People Looking For Direction (Possible Spoilers)

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2003)

People looking for direction are what I think this movie is about. Murray and Johansson play two completely different people, both who appear to be insomniacs, who find themselves, lost within themselves and the Japanese culture that surrounds them. Both on some level, I believe, feel like they have a spouse that may not even need them, or at least only when it's convenient.
In the brief encounters with Johansson's character's husband, he behaves with what seems like an utter disregard for her and self-absorption. At some level he probably is head over heels for her, but isn't very good at showing it, while he is very good at being downright rude at time, in my opinion.
Murray's character is one that seems to be something of a washed up, aging movie star, who the Japanese people still love and adore. His wife based upon the few phone conversations and faxes that we hear and see between the two of them would indicate that their relationship isn't in the best of shape; because so of the things she says depending upon how you interpret them could be almost downright cold and hurtful. The only thing that they appear to be in agreement on is loving and raising their children, which Murray seems to be missing out on because his agent is sending him all over the place to do commercials and appearances on talk shows.
I think through the interactions and discussions that these two characters have they find something in themselves that they like. What exactly it is doesn't ever seem crystal clear, but its a cross between friendship, sexual attraction, and a kind of mutual nurturing of one by the other as they both appear to be hitting bottom at the same time, but in different ways.
I feel that Murray and Johansson portray their characters very well giving them a depth and warmth that people can relate to when viewing this film. I think one of the reasons there is so much talk about this film is because the acting required wasn't just dialogue delivery - there are a lot of dialogue free scenes, where the actors convey more with their body languages then some actors might do in a 20 minute dialogue sequence.
It's not a movie that everyone is going to love. Some of you will hate this movie and think it's a piece of trash, while others will feel it is a masterpiece to be appreciated. I personally find myself wondering why a couple of the scenes in the movie were even there and what might have been left out that should have been in the movie instead. Watch this movie, even if you don't like it, you will walk out of it thinking about life of the movie itself more than most of the movies getting released today.