Reviews

I had never heard of this film, and then had the chance to watch it during a plane flight. Yes, at first it feels confusing and disjointed, as we're following several characters in different geographical locations, and it's hard to see how this will all come together. But then Depardieu's troubled and frankly unappealing character makes it to Japan and the slow weaving together of his life and that of the Japanese chef's family begins. My favorite bits had to do with his introduction to Japanese flavors, how he comes alive as he tastes ramen broth and spun sugar and meets the pig keeper who serenades her animals by playing rock guitar. The ending was sweet and satisfying.

Badly written, with characters you don't give a hoot about, this was a colossal waste of money. No humor, no characters to really root for, I can't believe I just wasted the last 2 hours of my evening watching such a stupid movie.

Who greenlit this monstrosity? He should be fired.

I saw this film on a plane flight, not knowing what to expect. I ended up laughing loudly so often that I'm sure the other passengers were annoyed with me. It has tons of references to the writing life, so if you've ever written a novel, tried to write a novel, or hope to write a novel, you'll love the bits about what it's like to be a novelist, either failed or successful.

Although the plot as described features the seductive young journalist returning to her native village to sell her house, I think the real heart of the story focuses on the bestselling crime novelist and his much-beleaguered and under-appreciated wife who is slowly coming to the realization that her husband is a cad. It's the eventual sense of justice about this marriage that really offers the viewer the fine sense of satisfaction at the end.

The secondary characters are a hoot, from the other writers at the farmhouse retreat to the bratty schoolgirls to the bonkers rock star. Every performance is a star turn. And I must give special kudos to the actress who plays the crime writer's wife -- she's utterly believable as the betrayed spouse.