dustin d
I was a little wary going into this movie, having read the synopsis, I thought Complicity had the potential to get preachy or maudlin. Fortunately, Chikaura deftly sidestepped those traps by portraying his subjects as real humans--essentially good people who are driven by necessity to do bad things. I found Tatsuya Fuji's performance to be particularly nuanced. With the slightest change of his face, he can go from furious to sympathetic. It is a movie about the dangers of living a lie, and how many things can get tied up in the lie and go wrong once the house of cards collapses. The only thing I didn't care for was the inconsistently used hand-held camera. Toward the end it gave the impression of the main character being constantly tracked, and perhaps that was the point, but I thought it made the film look overly sloppy.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
A well presented drama, as a young man Chen Liang (Yulai Lu) emigrates illegally to Japan striving for a better life. He changes his identity to obtain gainful employment and is hired by the master soba chef Hiroshi (Tatsuya Fuji) who employs him as an apprentice to eventually learn the intricacies of preparing soba in his restaurant. However, when Chen loses his wallet one night, the authorities will begin to close in on his status in Japan, and both he and Hiroshi will each have to make decisions about their futures. I thought this quiet drama was well conceived by writer and director Kei Chikaura, who is making his feature film debut here. The acting, all around, is most solid as well. My only criticism would be the film's very ambiguous ending.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
Full Review
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