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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, All Movie Guide