Japanese Story

2003 Australian film

Japanese Story

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Sue Brooks
Written by| Alison Tilson
Produced by| Sue Maslin
Starring| Toni Collette
Gotaro Tsunashima
Cinematography| Ian Baker
Edited by| Jill Bilcock
Music by| Elizabeth Drake
Distributed by| Samuel Goldwyn Films

Release date

* 25 September 2003 (2003-09-25) (Australia)

Running time

| 110 minutes
Country| Australia
Languages| English
Japanese
Budget| $5,740,000[1]
Box office| $4,050,497[2]

Japanese Story is a 2003 Australian romantic drama film directed by Sue Brooks. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.[3]

## Plot

[edit]

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Sandy Edwards (played by Toni Collette) is a director in a company that designs geological software in Perth, Western Australia. Her business partner manipulates her into agreeing to act as a guide for a Japanese businessman visiting mines in the Pilbara desert, in hopes that he will purchase the software. When Hiromitsu Tachibana (Gotaro Tsunashima [ja]) arrives, he treats Sandy like a chauffeur, and he seems more intent on self-discovery in the wilderness than on buying computer software. At first, Sandy is angered by his reserved, demanding demeanor. On their first journey into the desert, Hiromitsu, feeling insecure, talks more on his phone with friends in Japan than he does to Sandy. He also insists that she drive farther than planned. The terrain proves too much for the pair's vehicle, which becomes bogged down in the sand. After a series of desperate attempts to release the vehicle, including digging a dead man anchor, their winch burns out. Sandy wants to use Hiromitsu's phone to call people who can rescue them, but Hiromitsu refuses. This forces them to spend the night stranded together. The next day, Hiromitsu, conscious that his refusal had placed them in danger, wakes up much earlier than Sandy and builds a track of sticks over which they can drive out of the sand. The manoeuvre is successful. Now that they are on the road again, the ice breaks and a friendship starts between them that, in isolated surroundings uninterrupted by their work, grows quickly and honestly. Later, at a motel, they have sex. Only after does Sandy learn that Hiromitsu has a wife and children in Japan.

On another journey to scenic spots, Hiromitsu and Sandy share a quiet moment and kiss each other, eventually having sex again. Afterwards, Sandy runs into a swimming hole nearby. Hiromitsu follows her, diving into the shallow water before she can warn him, and disappears. Sandy frantically calls for him and, after a moment, his lifeless body resurfaces. In shock at his sudden death, Sandy struggles to deal with the situation, dragging his body into their vehicle and carefully washing it before driving for hours to the nearest town. Back in Perth, Sandy cannot comprehend the violent end to her journey. Reality intrudes in the form of Hiromitsu's grieving widow, Yukiko, and Sandy tries to understand how Hiromitsu's life had ended before she had understood his place in hers.

## Cast

[edit]

* Toni Collette – Sandy Edwards
* Gotaro Tsunashima [ja] (綱島郷太郎 Tsunashima Gōtarō) – Hiromitsu Tachibana
* Matthew Dyktynski – Bill Baird
* Lynette Curran – Mum
* Yumiko Tanaka (田中由美子 Tanaka Yumiko) – Yukiko Tachibana
* Kate Atkinson – Jackie
* Bill Young – Jimmy Smithers
* Reg Evans – Bloke in Row Boat
* George Shevtsov – James
* Justine Clarke – Jane
* Igor Sas – Fraser
* Mike Frencham – Blake
* John Howard – Richards
* Phil Bennett[4] – Barman
* Heath Bergersen – Petrol Bloke
* Peter Heather \- Police Officer 1
* Ray Curren \- Police Officer 2
* Peter Lester \- Chef

## Box office

[edit]

Japanese Story grossed $4,520,000 at the box office in Australia.[5]

## Reception and accolades

[edit]

Japanese Story received mixed to positive reviews, currently holding an approval rating of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Award  | Category  | Subject  | Result

|
|
|

AACTA Award
(2003 AFI Awards) | Best Film | Sue Maslin | Won
Best Direction | Sue Brooks | Won
Best Original Screenplay | Alison Tilson  | Won
Best Actor | Gotaro Tsunashima  | Nominated
Best Actress | Toni Collette | Won
Best Cinematography | Ian Baker | Won
Best Editing | Jill Bilcock | Won
Best Original Music Score | Elizabeth Drake  | Won
Best Sound | Livia Ruzic  | Won
Peter Grace  | Won
Peter Smith  | Won
Best Production Design | Paddy Reardon  | Nominated
AWGIE Award | Best Writing in a Feature Film - Original  | Alison Tilson  | Won
Bangkok International Film Festival | Golden Kinnaree Award for Best Film  | Sue Brooks  | Nominated
Chicago International Film Festival | Gold Hugo - New Directors Competition  | Nominated
FCCA Awards | Best Film  | Sue Maslin  | Won
Best Director  | Sue Brooks  | Won
Best Original Screenplay  | Alison Tilson  | Nominated
Best Female Actor  | Toni Collette  | Won
Best Music Score  | Elizabeth Drake  | Won
Best Editing  | Jill Bilcock  | Nominated
Best Cinematography  | Ian Baker  | Won
Inside Film Awards | Best Feature Film  | Sue Maslin  | Won
Best Direction  | Sue Brooks  | Won
Best Script  | Alison Tilson  | Nominated
Best Actor  | Gotaro Tsunashima  | Nominated
Best Actress  | Toni Collette  | Won
Best Cinematography  | Ian Baker  | Won
Best Editing  | Jill Bilcock  | Nominated
Best Music  | Elizabeth Drake  | Nominated
Miami International Film Festival | FIPRESCI Prize  | Sue Brooks  | Won
Satellite Award | Best Actress | Toni Collette  | Nominated
Screen Music Awards, Australia  | Best Feature Film Score  | Elizabeth Drake  | Won

## See also

[edit]

Portals:

* Australia
* Film

* Cinema of Australia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Japanese Story". IMDb.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
2. ^ "Japanese Story (2003) - Box Office Mojo". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
3. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Japanese Story". Festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
4. ^ "Phil Bennett | Actor". IMDb.
5. ^ Section=Australian_Films_Domestic_Box_Office_of_All_Time Archived 8 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine

## External links

[edit]

* Japanese Story at IMDb
* Official website \- Palace Films
* Japanese Story at the National Film and Sound Archive

* v
* t
* e

AACTA Award for Best Film

1958–1975|

* Conquest of the Rivers / Hard to Windward (1958)
* Edge of The Deep / The Power Makers (1959)
* Three in a Million (1960)
* No Award (1961)
* Bypass to Life / Night Freighter (1962)
* The Land That Waited (1963)
* The Dancing Class / I, the Aboriginal (1964)
* The Legend of Damien Parer / Stronger Since The War (1965)
* Concerto for Orchestra (1966)
* Cardin in Australia (1967)
* The Change at Groote / The Talgai Skull (1968)
* Jack and Jill: A Postscript (1969)
* Three to Go: Michael (1970)
* Homesdale (1971)
* Stork (1972)
* Libido: The Child / 27A (1973)
* Sunday Too Far Away (1974/75)

1976–2000|

* The Devil's Playground (1976)
* Storm Boy (1977)
* Newsfront (1978)
* My Brilliant Career (1979)
* Breaker Morant (1980)
* Gallipoli (1981)
* Lonely Hearts (1982)
* Careful, He Might Hear You (1983)
* Annie's Coming Out (1984)
* Bliss (1985)
* Malcolm (1986)
* The Year My Voice Broke (1987)
* The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)
* Evil Angels (1989)
* Flirting (1990)
* Proof (1991)
* Strictly Ballroom (1992)
* The Piano (1993)
* Muriel's Wedding (1994)
* Angel Baby (1995)
* Shine (1996)
* Kiss or Kill (1997)
* The Interview (1998)
* Two Hands (1999)
* Looking for Alibrandi (2000)

2001–present|

* Lantana (2001)
* Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
* Japanese Story (2003)
* Somersault (2004)
* Look Both Ways (2005)
* Ten Canoes (2006)
* Romulus, My Father (2007)
* The Black Balloon (2008)
* Samson and Delilah (2009)
* Animal Kingdom (2010)
* Red Dog (2011)
* The Sapphires (2012)
* The Great Gatsby (2013)
* The Babadook / The Water Diviner (2014)
* Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
* Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
* Lion (2017)
* Sweet Country (2018)
* The Nightingale (2019)
* Babyteeth (2020)
* Nitram (2021)
* Elvis (2022)
* Talk to Me (2023)
* Better Man (2024)

* v
* t
* e

AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score

1975–2000|

* The Cars That Ate Paris and The Great McCarthy – Bruce Smeaton (1975)
* No Award (1976)
* The Picture Show Man – Peter Best (1977)
* The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith – Bruce Smeaton (1978)
* Mad Max – Brian May (1979)
* Manganinnie – Peter Sculthorpe (1980)
* Fatty Finn – Rory O'Donoghue and Grahame Bond (1981)
* The Man from Snowy River – Bruce Rowland (1982)
* Phar Lap – Bruce Rowland (1983)
* Street Hero – Garth Porter and Bruce Smeaton (1984)
* Rebel – Ray Cook, Chris Neal, Peter Best, Billy Byers, Bruce Rowland (1985)
* Young Einstein – William Motzing and Martin Armiger (1986)
* The Tale of Ruby Rose – Paul Schütze (1987)
* The Lighthorsemen – Mario Millo (1988)
* Dead Calm – Graeme Revell (1989)
* The Big Steal – Phil Judd (1990)
* Dingo – Michel Legrand and Miles Davis (1991)
* Romper Stomper – John Clifford White (1992)
* The Piano – Michael Nyman (1993)
* Traps – Douglas Stephen Rae (1994)
* Hotel Sorrento – Nerida Tyson-Chew (1995)
* Shine – David Hirschfelder (1996)
* Doing Time for Patsy Cline – Peter Best (1997)
* Oscar and Lucinda – Thomas Newman (1998)
* In a Savage Land – David Bridie (1999)
* Bootmen – Cezary Skubiszewski (2000)

2001–present|

* The Dish – Edmund Choi (2001)
* Rabbit-Proof Fence – Peter Gabriel (2002)
* Japanese Story – Elizabeth Drake (2003)
* Somersault – Decoder Ring (2004)
* The Proposition – Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (2005)
* Suburban Mayhem – Mick Harvey (2006)
* The Home Song Stories – Antony Partos (2007)
* Unfinished Sky – Antony Partos (2008)
* Mao's Last Dancer – Christopher Gordon (2009)
* Animal Kingdom – Antony Partos and Sam Petty (2010)
* The Hunter – Andrew Lancaster, Michael Lira and Matteo Zingales (2011)
* Not Suitable for Children – Matteo Zingales and Jono Ma (2012)
* The Great Gatsby – Craig Armstrong (2013)
* The Railwayman – David Hirschfelder (2014)
* Mad Max: Fury Road – Tom Holkenborg (2015)
* Tanna – Antony Partos (2016)
* Lion – Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O'Halloran (2017)
* Ladies in Black – Christopher Gordon (2018)
* Judy and Punch – François Tétaz (2019)
* Babyteeth – Amanda Brown (2020)
* June Again – Christopher Gordon (2021)
* Falling for Figaro – Cezary Skubiszewski (2022)
* Talk to Me – Cornel Wilczek (2023)
* Better Man – Batu Sener (2024)

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