Japanese Story

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Japanese Story

R

Released May 19, 2003

1h 45m

Romance

Drama

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Popcornmeter

70%

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89 Reviews

70%

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5,000+ Ratings

Sandy (Toni Collette), the co-owner of a software company, is responsible for making sure a Japanese businessman, Hiromitsu Tachibana (Gotaro Tsunashima), is taken care of while they try to work out a possible deal. A power play is immediately set into motion, with Hiromitsu treating Sandy as his subordinate and Sandy accepting it. Their relationship, however, grows much more complicated when they get stuck in the desert with only each other to count on.

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Critics Consensus

An emotional film where Toni Collette gets to show her impressive range.

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Richard Porton

Chicago Reader

Collette's pitch-perfect performance and the stunning evocation of the forbidding and beautiful outback make this film unexpectedly rewarding.

Sep 29, 2017

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

An underdeveloped film that requires all of [Collette's] ample skills merely to rise to the mediocre.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 20, 2004

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Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Lots of pictures begin strongly only to lose their focus; this one gains momentum with every sequence -- ambivalent at first, we're firmly hooked by the final frame.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 20, 2004

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James Croot

The Post NZ

Japanese Story is an emotional rollercoaster of a movie that rivals Lantana, Samson & Delilah and Animal Kingdom for the title of the best Australian drama of the 21st century.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jul 19, 2023

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: B-

Mar 18, 2013

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

A beautiful piece of filmmaking with top notch acting...

Apr 29, 2009

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Bill K

I remember being very moved when I first saw this movie 22 years ago. I did not expect that it would affect me even more strongly watching it again so many years later. Toni Colette gives a career best performance. The story was so simple and yet so rich. I now consider this to be a personal favorite. So much deeper than the simple story suggests. Bring Kleenex.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/16/25

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Sandra H

I love this movie. I wonder what inspired these different details to come together. I cry every time I watch it. Love the japanese actor....ne is so beautiful.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/04/24

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phyllis t

Excellent film in every way... The awkwardness between cultures was carefully and skillfully portrayed by the scrip and two actors. Toni was brilliant. Myself as an American having working in neisi..Japanese American culture for 10 years I was very impressed with the awkwardness portrayed. The sensitivity of the wife toward Toni thru the pictures was very touching and such a tribute to Japanese culture. The character of Toni was forever changed and a scene at the end was evident in her new relationship with her mother to whom she gave the address of the wife. Good photography and much silence and little dialogue was excellent. Amazing film directed and written by women. Excellent

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

The greatest Japanese-American love story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

Brilliant moving unexpected

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

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Audience Member

At first glance, Sue Brooks' Japanese Story appears to be an infusion of genre stories: man versus nature, a road trip, and a mismatched romance. However, while there are elements of each ingredient in the movie, Brooks and screenwriter Alison Tilson want the finished product to be a deeper and richer mixture than one might anticipate from considering its parts. In fact, this is not an outback adventure story, but a character piece. Japanese Story looks at isolation and the fragility of human relationships. It's a poignant, unsettling motion picture that will baffle those who have become used to Hollywood's compact, tidy endings. This Australian indie should be on your watchlist.(A fascinating tale on the outback).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Sue Brooks

Director

Toni Collette

Sandy Edwards

Gotaro Tsunashima

Tachibana Hiromitsu

Matthew Dyktynski

Bill Baird

Lynette Curran

Mum

Yumiko Tanaka

Yukiko Hiromitsu

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Synopsis

Sandy (Toni Collette), the co-owner of a software company, is responsible for making sure a Japanese businessman, Hiromitsu Tachibana (Gotaro Tsunashima), is taken care of while they try to work out a possible deal. A power play is immediately set into motion, with Hiromitsu treating Sandy as his subordinate and Sandy accepting it. Their relationship, however, grows much more complicated when they get stuck in the desert with only each other to count on.

Director: Sue Brooks
Producer: Sue Maslin
Screenwriter: Alison Tilson
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Company, IDP Distribution
Production Co: Gecko Films
Rating: R (Language|Some Sexuality)
Genre: Romance, Drama
Original Language: Australian English
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $647.1K
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Surround

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