Japanese Story Review
Toni_Collette's considerable talents are put to both good use and bad in service of an underwritten script in this beguiling -- some may say baffling -- down-under melodrama. At first, Japanese Story may seem to be little more than a peculiarly static culture-clash comedy, pitting Collette's gruff, workaholic Aussie geologist Sandy against Gotaro_Tsunashima's impulsive, impractical Japanese businessman Tachibana. Director Sue_Brooks gives the actors plenty of room to interact with one another as well as their landscape: Fred_Schepisi's longtime cinematographer Ian_Baker uses the widescreen format to its full advantage, dwarfing Story's characters against Australia's imposing rock formations and barren deserts. The laconic, foreboding scenery is almost -- but not quite -- enough to prepare the audience for the plot's 90-degree turn toward the weightier world of romantic drama. Collette in particular shines in these scenes: As brusque as she is for the first half of the film, her eventual thaw is believable and still wholly a part of her character's overall makeup. But the glacial pace remains, and it begins to wreak havoc with the film's tone. It's hard to say whether Brooks' meted edits are a deliberate aesthetic choice or just a newbie's slackness: There's a chance she could become the next Peter_Weir or even Australia's answer to Antonioni or Malick. Based on Japanese Story, however, the jury's still out. Michael Hastings, Rovi
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