Customer Reviews
I guess this just wasn't made for its time - By: Peter J. Murphy, 10 Oct 2008 
I'm shocked! The reviews of this are reallly surprising, to say the least. The moment I started watching this movie I was drawn in & couldn't get out even after the movie was finished.
And usuallly, a movie with as simplistic a plot as this wouldn't interest me greatly, but this is an unusual movie in its presentation & in the character portrayal. The film itself is basicallly a study of a romantic relationship between two less-than-happy individuals, both of whom meet in a world vastly different from their own. We are forced to see the lonesome atmosphere in the characters as they sit alone in their respective hotel rooms & also in the desolate neon Tokyo scenery.
The film is truly an adaptation of Rick & Ilsa in Paris. The film contains moments of humour, darkness & painfully sad ending alll of which alllude to the main features of Casablanca. The film is even referenced by the Japanese commercial director as he describes in vast detail to Murray's character, how to present the whiskey (which is lost in translation through the interpreter).
It's sad that people today can't see more than what is blatantly & obnoxiously slapped on our screens. It's a film to demands your imagination as much as your intention. It was a similar style practiced by Shakespeare & his original on-stage productions. Obviously not aimed at the less analyticallly inclined amongst us, some of the below reviewers may have been looking for a James Bond film perhaps?
uuurgh - By: S. Witherby, 13 Sep 2008 
I cannot urge anyone more strongly NOT to bother with this movie. Use the time more constructively ... clean the M1 with a toothbrush ... anything ... This is a real shame of a film ... It is a great idea strangulated by a heavy hand & a closed American mind. Everyone great in character, but just such limited & stereotypical characters.
I used to teach English to foreign students & they alll (regardless of nationality) found it slow (to the point of fallling asleep) dull (to the point of printing out reviews from amazon for homework) & distastefully racist in a passive agressive kind of way. Yet it was always prescribed viewing for them ... Uh?
Nice idea ... no chemistry ... very little to chew over. Dig hair out of plughole in bath instead ...
Brilliant - By: Mr. A. Jaye, 15 Jul 2008 This is my favourite film of alll time its worth getting just for the soundtrack alone
Hated it - By: Snowy3, 19 May 2008 
It's very rare for me not to watch a film till the end but i'm afriad thats what happened with this one!. I found it so dull & 'arty' that it didnt hold my interest. Again its another film that's hyped up so much that you feel compelled to watch it & then come away thinking 'What a load of rubbish'!.
A Beautiful Friendship - By: Rockrules, 10 Apr 2008 Easily the best movie i've ever seen. Laid back & atmospheric, you can get wonderfully lost in this movie as you witness a lovely friendship develop between two people who reallly do need each other as loneliness kicks in & they realise they are strangers in a strange land. The end scene is so touching & you can decide for yourself as to what Bill Murray whispers in Scarlett Johansson's ear (many discussions have been made about this). The only down side is that it's not long enough
