Stupeur et tremblements (2003)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Alain Corneau

Writers:

Amélie Nothomb (novel)
Alain Corneau (scenario)

Release Date:

12 March 2003 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A Belgian woman looks back on her year at a Japanese corporation in Tokyo in 1990. She is Amélie, born in Japan...

Plot Keywords:

Toilet Paper | Multinational | Japanese | Window | Toilet

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Sylvie Testud	...	Amélie
Kaori Tsuji	...	Fubuki
Tarô Suwa	...	Monsieur Saito
Bison Katayama	...	Monsieur Omochi
Yasunari Kondo	...	Monsieur Tenshi
Sokyu Fujita	...	Monsieur Haneda
Gen Shimaoka	...	Monsieur Unaji
Heileigh Gomes	...	Amélie enfant
Eri Sakai	...	Fubuki enfant

Also Known As:

Fear and Trembling (International: English title)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

France | Japan

Language:

French | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:10 | Finland:K-11 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Canal+

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Amélie sorts all GmbH clients in the same folder, her superior explains her that "GmbH is like Ltd in English or SA in French". GmbH is not SA in French, but SARL (Société anonyme à responsabilité limitée).

Movie Connections:

References Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Soundtrack:

Goldberg Variations

Reality surpasses fiction

A friend of mine was wondering aloud whether the story could actually have happened in Japan. Well, I have no answer for that. All I can say is that to me, every detail was truthful to my not-so-in-depth knowledge of the Japanese culture. Only the gathering of them all in a single story line might yield such a surprising and delightful scenario worth being made into a movie.

All the Japanese characters were speaking to me in a moving way, for they were crafted according to real, human beings from everyday life. The casting was excellent and listening to the musicality of a once learned with enthusiasm and now forgotten foreign language was a treat. Casting was excellent and the Japanese actors all embodied perfectly their characters.

I missed seeing more Japanese female characters, especially those "office ladies" that would contrast with the leading Japanese lady (Fubuki-san) though, and help understand where she came from. I also missed seeing the French leading lady (Amelie-san) immersed in the Japanese very codified everyday life out of work : the kind of place where she lived, the kind of food she ate, the kind of places where she used to hang around when not spending her nights at the office, how she related with her co-workers, neighbors, friends during her spare time...

Have a wonderful time!