Director: Sue Brooks
Starring: Toni Collette, Gotaro Tsunashima, Matthew Dyktynski, Lynette Curran, Yumiko Tanaka, Kate Atkinson, John Howard, Bill Young

- Reviewed by Vickie

I LOVE it when movies surprise me. I love it when a plot takes a sudden twist that I hadn't anticipated, and I love it even more when that twist is a seriously risky one that pays off.

Japanese Story contained such a twist, and when it happened I was practically twittering with glee in my seat. Twittering!

The film starts out, for all intents and purposes, seeming like your standard-issue opposites-attract romantic comedy-drama. None-too-pleased Australian geologist Sandy Edwards (Toni Collette) gets all uppity whe she's assigned to take a Japanese businessman named Tachibana Hiromitsu (Gotaro Tsunashima) on a tour of various mining territories. Culture clash ensues almost immediately, with neither party fully understanding or accepting the other. Their little journey seems doomed from the outset as Hiromitsu demands to be taken into the Outback, and things only get worse once the pair find themselves stranded, alone, in the middle of nowhere. But, as one would expect in any typical romantic comedy-drama, adversity—and the threat of imminent death from any number of causes—breeds affection. Suddenly, they're united in a bid to get themselves unstuck and they discover they're not so different after all.

But wait. That sounds pretty bland, you say to yourself.

But wait, say I. For that's the just the beginning for these two.

The film comes to a fork in the storyline road in a scene I'll call "Down by the Swimmin' Hole." If you see the film, you'll know what I mean. The story reaches a point where it can travel the tried and true (read: YAWN) familiar path, or opt to take a chance on the other, far more dangerous and uncertain route. And it actually follows the latter, resulting in genuine surprise and unpredictability. Suddenly, it becomes a whole different movie. The tone changes, the story changes, the direction changes.

And I loved it!

Smart, daring writing aside, the film is buoyed by Collette's multifaceted performance. She's challenged with playing a very broad spectrum of emotion over the course of the film, and she does it all wonderfully, remaining likable (to me, anyway) and endearing thoughout. Gotaro Tsunashima's character's transformation is also affecting, as his steely exterior is slowly stripped away to reveal his true self and all his hopes and insecurities.

Director Sue Brooks has managed to create a powerful, fully unique drama that defies convention and practically laughs in the face of Hollywood formula.

And for that, moviegoers everywhere should be grateful.

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