Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

CatCat2011 I picked up the DVD because of the introduction seems funny. After half of the film, I was wondering why I was still watching it. By curiosity, I decided to finish the film. And I was almost angry at myself why I wasted another hour of my life. It is a very badly made, no-story film. The film set is so far away from the reality, does not looks like a real office. It is hard to fall in love with the main character, almost to the point that you just don't care about this girl, she does nothing to change her misery. And the scene in which she trips herself naked and dance in the office looks really stupid and useless. On top of it, she put the garbage cover herself and sleep on the floor for the night. What does the filmmaker want to say about the personality. Amelie is not lovely, smart, and daring. What is her charm?What is the point of the film? The reality of working in a Japanese company as a foreigner? Who put up with all the abuse and still decides to stay in such a working environment does not deserve any pity. It is nothing to do with the difference between western and eastern culture. No company wants to waste their money to hire someone to do nothing. Japan has very limited resource, people hate wasting. A boss would keep wasting his employee's time and papers, it is hard to believe. They might love to torture this little Belgian girl but they would not like to waste their papers. In general, it is hard to believe that the rating of this film in IMDb is 7.1.

Robert As a long-time Japanophile and frequent visitor to Japan, I really wanted to enjoy "Fear and Trembling". Alas, the film ruined much of that potential for me. But first the pros: the social and business dynamics depicted are spot-on. The acting -- particularly by Tsuji Kaori -- is excellent. The office set where 99% of the film takes place, is utterly believable (for actually being filmed in Paris). The story has great potential, especially for being semi-autobiographical.So, what are the cons? First, the pacing. For a film whose cover blurb compares it to "Lost in Translation", it has few of that films transcendent passages. The latter's pacing is poetic. The former's is glacial. They could've cut at least 15 minutes of unnecessarily long scenes from this and ended up with a better film for it. Second, the protagonist. Passive, slovenly, usually dim-witted, I found it impossible to sympathize with her plight, or even to look at her.And third -- and most inexplicable -- the fact that she was utterly, bloody-mindedly ignorant of Japanese customs. The notion that she could speak idiomatic Japanese but not have learned even the basics of Japanese business etiquette is simply absurd. She knew enough to always address people by their proper titles, but not enough to *bow* when her bosses gave her an order?! She knew that blowing one's nose in front of another person was rude, but didn't know that she should never argue with her superiors?! She knew that she should accept blame for her own failures, but didn't know that staring at people is seen as highly aggressive?! Simply unbelievable.I suppose that many people watching "Fear and Trembling" who are ignorant of Japanese etiquette and protocol might not have as much trouble with these, but for those who *do* understand the basics of social interaction and hierarchy in Japan, her behavior goes from being sympathetic to unbearable. I ended up rooting for those who were beating her down, simply because she was such an "ugly American" (for being Belgian) an utter dolt. Of course, your mileage may vary.

hystericblue42 If you have ever worked for a Japanese company, or plan to work for one, even if you insist that you love Japan like I do, you must see the movie, "Fear and Trembling" ("Stupeur et Tremblements" in French) before you embark on such a venture. Being a movie, it does exaggerate some points, such as the bombastic personality of Vice President Omochi, and the utter cold-hearted cruelty of Fubuki. But besides that, everything is pretty accurate. The Japanese really do expect 100% accuracy in your work. Nothing less is acceptable. What may seem like a helpful, beneficial action, could be seen as an attempt at sabotage. No detail is too small-- when Mr. Saito makes Amelie copy his golf manual over and over because the text was off-center (so he said), I recalled M-san taking me to task for missing a tiny detail here or there after typing up ending credits. Or if I put the documents in reverse order on the top of the sorted contracts, that was wrong because it could "cause big problem". Even the issue of being able to report to no one but her direct superior...this too, is true. Even though only 10 people were working at the company where I worked, and even though the president was right down the hall, everything had to come through my direct superiors. And I was nobody's superior. And I can't forget the bathrooms. I, like Amelie, was made to supply the bathrooms every day with extra toilet paper, paper towels, soap, and trash bags. I can appreciate how Amelie felt, staring at Fubuki's beauty. One of my superiors was a classic Japanese beauty as well, only more petite than Fubuki. Such dainty, perfectly formed features. I was lucky that she didn't have a personality like Fubuki. I especially enjoyed Amelie's moments of "falling out the window". Very artfully done, even if you could tell she was in front of a screen. The actress was so wistful...she just wanted to escape... If I had seen this movie before working where I did, I wonder if I might have acted differently.

petr-17 The best way of describing this film is like the antithesis to Mike Judge's Office Space.The story covers a year of a Belgian/Japanese girl working in Japan for a large Corporation. The insanity of this arrangement goes beyond mere cultural East and West differences, and borders on sado-masochism. And in fact is pointed out as a metaphor for sex (although there is none in the film.) The cultural differences and rules portrayed in the film completely engross the viewer. It is a rare film where the play out of the subject matter completely engulfs your attention. Though the film does focus on familiar (or rather identifiable) stereotypes there are enough twists in etiquette to even break those.The acting is superb all around. Sylvie Testud's performance is exceptional.Cinematography is OK. The special effects of flying over Tokyo are below standard, and the window overlooking the city looks extremely fake.Audio suffers from some blatant re-dubbing (particularly on Sylvie Testud's Japanese dialog.) The Bach music is out of place and does not fit the film very well, particularly as it is a harpsichord piece.Overall a definite film for anyone who worked in an office environment and thought they had it tough. Also a good second thought for anyone considering working in Japan.