Japanese Story

R

Released May 19, 2003

1 hr. 45 min.

Romance

Drama

List

68%

92 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Apple TV

Watch Japanese Story with a subscription on Prime Video, rent on Apple TV, or buy on Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

I enjoyed this movie. No big story but the entire movie is about the two characters. We were invited into their lives during the duration of the movie. Worth checking for sure!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/10/23

Full Review

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

Full Review

Audience Member

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Brilliant moving unexpected

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

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

Full Review

Audience Member

May I just say I have never seen anything like this. Not much dialogues, not much verbal communications, everything was said through actors' expressions, especially their eyes. I love the soundtracks! It made me cry. I wish the guy didnt die, yet, I don't know if the movie will be as deep and touching as it is, if he didnt. Th death was totally unexpected for a rom-com. I loved how this couples are opposites attract. I don't like that the guy is married and never told her.Great cast, great acting, not too sincere when it comes to language corrections or English teachings. All the other bird view shots, the shots during their sex scenes are beautiful!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Sue Brooks

Director

Toni Collette

Sandy Edwards

Gotaro Tsunashima

Tachibana Hiromitsu

Matthew Dyktynski

Bill Baird

Lynette Curran

Mum

Yumiko Tanaka

Yukiko Hiromitsu

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

90%

90%

Last Life in the Universe

77%

69%

The Cooler

42%

44%

XX/XY

71%

78%

All the Real Girls

65%

54%

We Don't Live Here Anymore

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

James Croot

Stuff.co.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

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: B-

Mar 18, 2013

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

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

Apr 29, 2009

Full Review

Read all reviews

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
Screenwriter: Alison Tilson
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Company, IDP Distribution
Production Co: Gecko Films
Rating: R (Language|Some Sexuality)
Genre: Romance, Drama
Original Language: English (Australia)
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $647.1K
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now