Customer Reviews

Fear and Trembling

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alan Corneau's film adaptation of Amelie Nothomb's autographical novel "Fear and Trembling" borders on a near perfect portrayal of a young Belgian ingénue's desire to be understood and accepted amidst a backdrop of cultural differences as glimpsed from under the bell jar of the Japanese corporation. Corneau does author Nothomb's story one better, casting redheaded elf Sylvie Testud in the lead role. While her wistful facial expressions easily maneuver the audience to see matters from the Western perspective from the get-go, Testud manages to achieve a Chaplin-esque timing that charms as well as amuses as she ponders her bad karma in the corporate world with an almost Zen-like complacency.

Hired as an interpreter, Amelie struggles to maintain some degree of necessity in an environment that is clearly working overtime to make her feel worthless. As her tale of self-awareness progresses, she finds herself demoted to bathroom attendant, completely humiliated by the likes of her superior, the tall, beautiful and statuesque Fubuki Mori (played wonderfully by actress/model Kaori Tsuji) who Amelie openly admires with a fierce allegiance that pathetically fringes on fanatic adoration.

Similar in theme to Sophia Coppola's "Lost in Translation," "Fear and Trembling" does a much better job of entertaining while delivering the Western head-scratching message regarding the Japanese philosophical fixation on obedience and loyalty to the hierarchical social entity as opposed to individual enterprise. As the film moves towards its eventual conclusion, it never once becomes muddled or caught in the quagmire of its own cleverness. Instead, Corneau pits Tsuji and Testud against each other with an unspoken sexual tension that beguiles with masochistic undertones. That the two characters are attracted to each other in some perverse way adds to the utter emptiness of their lives at the Yumimoto conglomerate where the glass ceiling hangs overhead like a phantom sword of Damocles.

Bottom line? As Amelie quakes with appropriate "fear and trembling"---the title of this film refers to behavior expected from anyone in the presence of the emperor---she still swells within with her Western pride yet basks in her ability to be as humble as a native born Japanese. This journey of self-discovery and cultural differences sparkles with a superior comedy thanks to Testud's Cesar winning performance and Corneau's slightly mindgame erotic adapation of Nothomb's novel. Recommended highly.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
reneofc

If you are looking for funny jokes of cultural differences, you may be 50% satisfied. If you want to understand Japanese culture from a westerner point of view, you will be 75% satisfied. (More on this later.) If you are looking for an "art film", this one may fail you. That is why I gave it 4-stars rating.

From a layman viewer point of view, one may find this film funny but a bit pretentious. From a art-film buff point of view, one may find this too naive. I have to say this film is not very successful to appeal to either world.

However, if you really have the time and mind-set to understand Japanese culture (not just those mentioned in a tourist guide book), this is pretty good point to start. The film used an exaggerated manner to examplified the deeper cultural structure of Japan. The film starts with the central character (a Japan born Belgian girl) introducing her position in a big Japanese company through a company chart-way: A is B's supervisor and B is C's supervisor and finally X is her supervior. And the film ends (not the actual ending but end of her career in that company) with she telling each of these supervisors, from her immediate supervisor to the managing director, her leaving and thier different reaction to it. If you use this structure as a guide to view this film. You may find this film worth more than what it looks like initially.

Good viewing and enjoy it. I recommend it to those who have the time and sensitivity toward other culture.

Having spent her early childhood in Japan, a young European woman returns to her idealized homeland with a 1 year contract in a Japanese corporation. Full of hope, she encounters a seemingly endless series of cultural missteps and dashed expectations. She soon discovers that she is truly a stranger in a strange land.

How bad can it get? Very, very bad. You'll see.

This is the Evil Twin of those movies that mine humor and happy endings out of "fish out of water" situation.

The film is both emotionally wrenching at times but restrained in acting and every other way. By no means a light or uplifting story, it is neverless interesting and often very emotionally compelling.

I came to this movie with no real knowledge of the working environment in Japan. It was quickly apparent to me, however, that the characters were drawn as delightful hyperboles that only enhanced the genius of this superb little movie. I guess some people need stark realism in every movie they see. As for me, I like a well-crafted story that is well acted and that takes me somewhere I've never been before, and FEAR AND TREMBLING certainly fits that bill.

The movie was so beautifully developed that I was afraid it was going to let me down in the end. It didn't. I would not have changed a single moment and found myself fully satisfied, which rarely happens in movie watching. I saw it online at a movie rental site and gave it 5 stars there too, another thing I rarely do.

One hundred seven minutes of pure enjoyment.

Many years ago, I used to work in Asia (China). It was fascinating to be part of the world totally foreign to me until that moment. For that reason, I wanted to see this movie and experience how it is (or was) for others in similar situation. Here is the story of a young Belgian woman, college graduate, fluent in Japanese and nostalgic about childhood past and romanticized experiences from living in Japan. She is about to recapture the time lost in between and reclaim her belonging in Japanese society. The eagerness to please does her no good but rather puts her in more trouble every time to the point that she is demoted to a bathroom attendant. One must show the utmost respect for the actress Sylvie Testud who managed to learn Japanese language for this role. The story of young woman's will and determination in keeping the demeaning job for the entire duration of her contract in spite of humiliations she experiences is both funny and heartbreaking. Human nature, cultural differences and misplaced loyalties all overlap in this powerful story. Definitely see this work -- it will not leave your feeling indifferent.

As listed, this movie is about Amelie, a young women who spend her first 5 years in Japan in the country and has longed to return to the country. Things are never what you expect or how you viewed them as a child. She is hired by a Japanese company as an interpretor for a year contract. She does everything but her job. She is not only given cultural lessons, but also lessons of human behavior. Is is emotional - hot and cold. I enjoyed the film and thought that it flowed well. Even though it was subtitled, you really felt the emotional and nuances of the characters.

It is true that the most obvious hook to this flick is the idea of a personal experience of east meets west culture clash but if that is all you see then you are truly missing the point of this film.

The script brilliantly uses culture clash as a device that allows the viewer to buy into the movie while it really touches on the protagonist's attempt to relive the moments of euphoria she experienced in her awakening to Japanese culture through the eyes of a child whose "celestial vision" was still intact.

Unfortunately, what she does experience is a dark side of the culture that she isn't prepared for while at the same time having borderline homoerotic fantasies about her immediate supervisor as she works for her approval and possibly love.

The humor is borne out of tragedy and pain. It isn't suppose to be a yuck fest. The laughs that do arise are supposed to make you almost ashamed of yourself because what she endures is not funny in the least.

Amelie stuck out her situation because she wanted most to fit in Japanese society and because she enjoyed, in a perverted way, her battles with her supervisor. Amelie is convinced that most westerners would have quit under similar circumstances but because she was there to surrender herself completely to living as a Japanese person she has to edure all. Get the movie and see if she was successful.

If you want a taste of what corporate culture in Japan is like, and some insight into the old saw 'east is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet', this is a great film to watch and talk about with your gaijin' friends who have lived and worked in Nihon. But, a warning, some Japanese friends did not like it at all, and a few were offended by it.

Usually when I read a book and then see a movie, I end up disappointed. Not in this case. The film is an amazing rendition of the novel that remains true. The movie runs a little under two hours and the editing from the original story are fine.

It is a story of a young Belgium woman (Amelie) who yearns to go back to the spiritual peace that she experienced as a small child growing up in Japan. She learns how to speak and write impeccable Japanese. She wants to become Japanese, in manner of speaking. Amelie manages to score a one year contract with a top Japanse corporation and thinks she is well on her way to obtaining her objective of becoming one with the the Japanese culture. Being western, this is impossible of course, and her naive foray into blending is considered an insult not a compliment by her employers.

Despite all of her knowledge and attempts to become one with her environment, it is not allowed by the Japense corporation (or society). We see some sections that applaud her efforts and realize that the old ways of doing things need to be changed and do their best to help her (or any western influence) but they are doomed to fail. These two cultures are diametrically opposed and will never mesh, the film seems to say.

At the end Amelie has come to realize that she is by nature, a westerner despite her desire to be "Japanese." The best she can do is serve out her one year contract to save face, a Japanese principle.

More importantly, I thought it was about self-actualization and learning to achieve peace from within instead of looking for external sources.

This DVD, "Fear and Trembling," was a nice surprise. I stumbled upon the title somehow, found it at amazon.com, and ordered a copy. Like "Lost in Translation," this French film explores the cultural intricacies of a gaijin (foreigner) trying to fit into the highly structured Japanese corporation. It's a hilarious film, especially for anyone who knows anything about Japanese culture. I'm a sansei (3rd generation Japanese) in Hawaii, so I know a little about Japanese culture in US, Hawaii and Japan. The film hit home many times. I highly recommend this film for anyone interested in modern Japanese lifestyle, particularly from the perspective of a cultural outsider. This film goes well with novels by Sujata Massey, a writer with a fine eye for details about Japanese people.