Share
Film
David Ng
Tuesday, November 9th 2004
A culture-clash comedy that takes the notion of Japanese otherness to ludicrous extremes, Alain Corneau's Fear and Trembling follows a year in the life of Amélie (Sylvie Testud), a Japanese-born Belgian who lands a job as a translator for a Tokyo multinational. Amélie's dream of becoming "a real Japanese" assumes masochistic overtones as she eagerly submits to demeaning chores (endless photocopying, bathroom duty) while secretly harboring a crush on her bitch-on-wheels boss, Fubuki (Kaori Tsuji). Testud speaks what sounds like fluent Japanese throughout (she won a César for her efforts). Still, one must question her level of commitment to a film that professes a deep respect for the Japanese culture and then renders its Japanese characters as a bunch of screeching ninnies. The movie's few pleasures are tangential. Fubuki reveals she's always wanted to be an archery champion—shades of Diana-ness that recall Connie Nielsen's boardroom huntress in the similarly Franco-Japanese (but infinitely superior) demonlover. Later, Amélie attempts cultural rapprochement by referencing Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. She knows her efforts have failed when her uncomprehending manager looks at her askance and spits, "You look nothing like David Bowie!"
Recent Articles
More by David Ng
Land of the Lost
The Civilians revive their fan fave Gone Missing
The Asian Equation
What exactly should an Asian-American theater fest celebrate?
The Ex Factor
Note to Greek husbands: Killing child not best idea
Flick Chick
Masha Tupitsyn's stories lose it to the movies
L.A. Rebel in Berlin
The Negro Problem's Stew brings his indie musical to the Public Theater
Site Search «
Most Popular
-
The Strangest Landlord-Tenant Relationship In Town? Stacked up in cubicles for decades, immigrants living in a Bowery tenement may have a very unusual situation.
-
Spike Jonze Can't Quite Get Spirit of Where The Wild Things Are On Screen Max and the gang's all here. Let the mild rumpus start!
- A Bloomberg Score Card: The Mayor's Hits and Misses
- We've Bailed out the Banks. When Do We Go After the Crooks Behind our Financial Collapse?
- On Michael Jackson's Mercifully Goofy, Cheerful This Is It
| buy, sell, trade 10,094 | musician 3,585 |
| rentals 12,810 | jobs 1,965 |
| adult entertainment 34,513 | |
| classifieds | backpage.com | Post ads for free! | |
|---|---|