Japan is something
of a cultural slave in the West at the moment.
Every brand that can have a Nipponese flavour
stapled to it seems fair fodder to the marketing
men. Sofia Coppolla’s second movie,
at first glance seems to attempt to buck this
trend. Instead we focus on an unlikely duo
of a newly wed twenty something and her fresh
hotel acquaintance, a mid-life crisis aged
actor, who are attempting to escape the land
of the rising sun rather than embrace it.
Both characters are aimlessly adrift; the
former come to Japan with her husband, a trendy
young photographer as she has 'nothing better
to do', the latter in Tokyo to film a Whiskey
commercial for a cool $2 million.
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The beginning of their interaction is marked
by their desire to escape this foreign land
where everything is at once familiar yet somehow
twisted. As the week draws on the pair grow
close, taking comfort in each other’s
misery and feeling their way through each
other’s problems. Sofia thankfully stays
away from a full on love affair and, in a
carefully paced manner, keeps the relationship
slightly ambiguous. The experience draws the
pair together and with it they foster a love
for Tokyo. Indeed, scenes of the neon city
feature throughout the film and are presented
with loving care. A careful edit of the tape
could create a wonderful series of glowing
vistas for a tourist advert as we’re
shown Tokyo nightlife happily alongside Mount
Fuji golf. Coppolla keeps the dialogue short
and to the point and lets the actors act wonderfully.
Meaningful glances and pregnant pauses are
juxtaposed with elegant editing to expose
a relationship clothed in confusion yet routed
in care and love. The viewers preoccupation
rests in trying to work out the nature of
the two main character’s relations ship:
something that, in the midst of their sleep
deprivation and neon burned retina’s,
they themselves can’t fathom. However,
underneath the oh-so-alternative filmmaking,
the considered performances, sterling soundtrack
and considered editing, there is only a slim
story to be told here. This is a beautiful,
fragile film that knowingly explores human
relationships, but its tale won’t inspire
as nearly as far as it’s telling
Gene Wars
Sofia Coppolla, for the uninitiated, is the
daughter of Francis-Ford, the legendary director
behind the Godfather trilogy, frequently cited
as the greatest set of movies this side of
Star wars fans. Sofia starred as Michael Corleone’s
daughter in the third Godfather movies (in
place of a late drop out from Winona Ryder).
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