and wanted to start a new discussion about it here.
I found another review:
http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/article ... film03.txt
Whereas LIT showed us a lot of Japan's hip and popular culture, this film delves into the corporate side. Yes there are plenty of nice shots of
Tokyo from above during the day and night but it's a different look and
feel than LIT. There are also some shots in Shibuya crossing and you can see the Starbucks
where the crew in LIT did the overhead shots.
In a lot of the over Tokyo shots Amélie is flying above the city. It's her mental escape from what has become the hell of the corporate life.
The film is based on a book of the author, Amélie's, real life experiences in Japan. She grew up in Japan for 5 years and retains her
fluency in the language hence her job there as a translator.
The problem is that although she is fluent and grew up there, she is not clued in to the nuances
of the corporate social and political structure and behavior and makes some
serious mistakes that cause her downfall.
However because she loves Japan she is resolved to be a true Japanese and as such will not quit the job.
There are different characters in the corporation that show different sides of it. And one must figure they can't all be exactly like that but
it's probably like any culture where there is a range of behavior.
The main relationship in the film is between Amélie and her immediate supervisor Miss Mori. There is a kind of S&M tension between them and Amélie envisions a deep platonic (but more is implied)
friendship between them.
It's called a comedy but its a comedy the way LIT was a comedy. Not really. How do you categorize a film like this? I don't know but it was more
interesting than funny. Although some of the scenes are a little torturous to watch.
