Tony Takitani by Jun Ichikawa

Category: Non-English

Japanese director Jun Ichikawa picks up a short story by Haruki Murakami and beautifully executes it. In fact I have to say I am very surprised at the talent and more importantly the simplicity of the director. The film follows the story of Tony Takitani who gets his name thanks to a very eccentric father.

The alienation of an individual here begins right at the name, hitting out at the fact that we're well defined in some cultures it is a start, a progression if you may like to a complete breakdown of an individual. After he grows up he gets married to a lady younger than him by 15 years and eventually she passes away. He does however try to replace her void with almost no success.

The movie doesn't go anywhere but tells a story of a lifetime, it's got less dialogue and a very unique way of moving onto the next scene - using a side scroll pattern as if the story is unfolding for the first time on camera as well. The performances are top notch to say the least, there's a gentle creation and execution of the film. Watch out for the commentary which isn't actually any individuals voice in the film, rather it's everyones voice and no ones in particular.

Recommendation level: 4/5 - Yeah, it's really that good, I should have seen this a while back!