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Japanese Story

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Japanese Story (2004)

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Reviews Counted:87

Fresh:58

Rotten:29

Average Rating:6.4/10

Consensus: An emotional film where Toni Collette gets to show her impressive range.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some sexuality and language

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 31, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $189,209

Synopsis: This romantic drama stars Toni Collette as Sandy, a high-strung Australian geologist assigned to escort Japanese businessman Hirotmitsu (Gotaro Tsunashima) on a tour through the outback. Ostensibly... This romantic drama stars Toni Collette as Sandy, a high-strung Australian geologist assigned to escort Japanese businessman Hirotmitsu (Gotaro Tsunashima) on a tour through the outback. Ostensibly he's there to visit the various mines his company co-owns, but his real motives are mysterious and soon he is urging her to drive deep into the middle of the Pilabra Desert. A mutual dislike for one another, enhanced by vast cultural differences keep them at arm's length at first, but when their jeep gets mired in sand in the middle of nowhere, their fight for survival leads them towards a deep human connection. They find themselves falling in love as they drift aimlessly amidst the desolate beauty of the area, but soon comes a sudden, unexpected shock. Written by Alison Tilson and directed by Sue Brooks, JAPANESE STORY explores the distances between cultures, people, and the vast emptiness of Australia's interior regions. Yet even the spectacular desert scenery can't compete with Collette's complex stunner of a performance. Suntanned, tender, gutsy and raw, she plumbs frighteningly real depths of emotion and vulnerability. Tsunashima is also excellent, bringing simplicity and grace to an enigmatic role. [More]

Starring: Toni Collette, Gotaro Tsunashima, Lynette Curran, Yumiko Tanaka

Starring: Toni Collette, Gotaro Tsunashima, Lynette Curran, Yumiko Tanaka, Matthew Dyktynski

Director: Sue Brooks

Director: Sue Brooks
Screenwriter: Allison Tilson
Producer: Magnus Mansie
Composer: Elizabeth Drake
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 11, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Japanese Story

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Despite an uninspiring first half, the film delivers a strong emotional impact in its final reels.**

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
08/23/04
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

An underdeveloped film that requires all of [Collette's] ample skills merely to rise to the mediocre.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
08/20/04
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A heartbreaking and complex film about human relationships.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
08/20/04
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Lots of pictures begin strongly only to lose their focus; this one gains momentum with every sequence -- ambivalent at first, we're firmly hooked by the final frame.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
08/20/04
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Tsunashima gives a deft performance in a role that starts out as caricature but becomes full-bodied. Collette commands the screen virtually the entire time.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
08/07/04
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Mixing cultural comedy, survival tension, unlikely romance and an extreme about turn, it's a moving and unusual film.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
07/16/04
Harry Guerin
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movie Gazette | comment Comment
06/04/04
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Movie Gazette

A raw emotional journey in which character is everything -- although the scenery is spectacular.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
06/04/04
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine

It's powerful, but fatally contrived

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
06/02/04
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]

Japanese Story gives Australian actress Toni Collette a chance to demonstrate the full range of her acting skills in a cross-cultural tale filled with many surprises.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
05/28/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Tender, original and moving.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/18/04
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC

The film acts as a tale of human strengths and frailty as well as a barometer of cultural diversity.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
04/29/04
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

The conflict ... is all internal, and that's the problematic conceit on which Japanese Story turns.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
04/23/04
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

Starts off promisingly. Eventually, though, it collapses into melodrama.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
04/23/04
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
04/23/04
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An embarrassing bit of housewife Orientalism erotica... that easily could be summarized by Monty Python's "I Like Chinese" song.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
04/13/04
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
04/09/04
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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