Reviews

I saw this film yesterday at the CineQuest festival in San Jose. Based on a number of the comments I overheard after the showing, I think a number of people considered it rather slow and dull. But I found it a truly beautiful and different piece of film making. There's very little story and the pace is leisurely (to say the least). But it's one of those films where if you hang in there and give it a chance it becomes richly rewarding. The photography (both in color and black and white) is gorgeous. There is also a deepening sense of truly getting to know a unique corner of Tokyo. From what I know of traditional Japanese drama, there is also a real influence of a certain kind of Noh-theater aesthetic that makes the piece kind of magical and mysterious. All in all, it really stuck with me and I'm still thinking about it a day later. But there isn't a strong sense of a narrative drive or of a well-constructed plot where characters are solving problems or overcoming obstacles or any of the traditional elements of story telling. So if you come in expecting that kind of experience you will be frustrated and probably bored. But if you can "quiet your mind" and accept the film on its own terms, it is wonderful and enlightening.

Well, there are many things in this film that are pretty silly. The scene of "Che" and "Fidel" sitting around, smoking cigars, and talking about what Sartre books they've read, for example, rates pretty high on the unintentional comedy scale. But the film is still worth seeing for Anne Alvaro's performance as Simone de Beauvoir. Even though they seem to have forgotten to write her any lines, she is so expressive with her face and body that it doesn't seem to matter much. She also bears an eerie resemblance to the actual woman. If you enjoyed her as the actress/French teacher in "Le Gout des Autres," you should also check out her work here. What a talent!