First of all, the movie's setting is a multi-ethnic New York City. Our hero,Kenji, is part of a great mix of foreign-born/U.S. racial minorities/gay & straight people. His Japanese accent and his best friend's Italian accent are just part of the fun. Ethnic stereotypes are jokes.
Kenji really, really wants to fall in love, but seems to be living just on handouts from his parents. His Italian friend fancies himself a filmmaker, but has a job selling movie tickets. They're living on dreams and illusions, but I wouldn't call that aimless, would you? (!)
Second point -- The story is told in a very interesting way. Part of it is dreams, part of it is real life, and in parts, the dreams sort of push into real life. It's not that hard to keep track of, tho. The story is told chronologically and only takes 2 days.
Third -- the actors are uniformly wonderful. The supporting roles, especially Ben Gazzara, are so memorable it almost seems crazy not to veer off on each one. Then there is a whole string of cameo bits that stick in your mind -- the "Balzac man," a pseudo-intellectual guy in the café, will make you laugh -- the transvestite hooker -- the fortune teller -- there must be 20 of these gems! Fans of Mira Sorvino and Takeshi Kaneshiro will not be disappointed. As a very sexy Death, Sorvino shares with us her viewpoint, one that's not so hard to understand after all. We can see that it's natural that Death would have her favorites (not that it would be any great consolation). Her interactions with her 2 assistants are pretty hilarious.
Kaneshiro's trademark blend of funny and intense makes him so rewarding to watch. No one can say he's weak or uncertain as an actor, and that was really important to this movie. He communicates a lot through his expressive attention to the other actors, but when it comes to the pivotal scene where he speaks out, his words are extremely powerful.
Last -- the ending of the story takes us by surprise, even though we have known how it would end through much of the movie. It happens in a way we wouldn't have expected.
Best of all are the interesting things that occur to us as we watch, like what does knowing you're going to die really change? There are lots of foreshadowings that prepare us for the main action (for example, everybody reminds the love interest, Pola, of someone else who turns out to be kind of relevant). It's hard for anyone to see this movie without suspecting there was more in there than they were able to catch.(Remind me to look up Pola Negri)
I think there are plenty of people who would love this movie, and hope this helps you know if you're one of them. It's a serious story but very enjoyable.
Kenji really, really wants to fall in love, but seems to be living just on handouts from his parents. His Italian friend fancies himself a filmmaker, but has a job selling movie tickets. They're living on dreams and illusions, but I wouldn't call that aimless, would you? (!)
Second point -- The story is told in a very interesting way. Part of it is dreams, part of it is real life, and in parts, the dreams sort of push into real life. It's not that hard to keep track of, tho. The story is told chronologically and only takes 2 days.
Third -- the actors are uniformly wonderful. The supporting roles, especially Ben Gazzara, are so memorable it almost seems crazy not to veer off on each one. Then there is a whole string of cameo bits that stick in your mind -- the "Balzac man," a pseudo-intellectual guy in the café, will make you laugh -- the transvestite hooker -- the fortune teller -- there must be 20 of these gems! Fans of Mira Sorvino and Takeshi Kaneshiro will not be disappointed. As a very sexy Death, Sorvino shares with us her viewpoint, one that's not so hard to understand after all. We can see that it's natural that Death would have her favorites (not that it would be any great consolation). Her interactions with her 2 assistants are pretty hilarious.
Kaneshiro's trademark blend of funny and intense makes him so rewarding to watch. No one can say he's weak or uncertain as an actor, and that was really important to this movie. He communicates a lot through his expressive attention to the other actors, but when it comes to the pivotal scene where he speaks out, his words are extremely powerful.
Last -- the ending of the story takes us by surprise, even though we have known how it would end through much of the movie. It happens in a way we wouldn't have expected.
Best of all are the interesting things that occur to us as we watch, like what does knowing you're going to die really change? There are lots of foreshadowings that prepare us for the main action (for example, everybody reminds the love interest, Pola, of someone else who turns out to be kind of relevant). It's hard for anyone to see this movie without suspecting there was more in there than they were able to catch.(Remind me to look up Pola Negri)
I think there are plenty of people who would love this movie, and hope this helps you know if you're one of them. It's a serious story but very enjoyable.