Like Someone in Love

Superb look into the mysteries of the human heart. Imagine if "The Great Gatsby" had ended with the body floating in the pool, with all else left up to you. Was Gatsby's quest to reclaim his past a failure? a lie? what was his life? why did he befriend Nick? do we ever know why we do what we do when the heart interacts with the dictates and demands of the world around us? Extraordinary casting and astonishing performances lead us on a voyage of introspection and discovery.

A young woman and her female friend work as call girls in a high end club. Her friend has a thick skin and is able to have fun in this gig. The young woman is trying to finish college and is torn apart by all the circumstances of her life. Enter an older professor. The tarot card with the heart - dealt upside down. Beautifully done movie however.

Any fan of Abbas Kiarostami should enjoy this, and it is so interesting to see his work in a japanese setting. Something about it reminds me a little of films directed by Yasujirō Ozu.

But it just didn't rise to the occasion. A huge disappointment.

Beautiful slice of life from an unexpected angle.

A most thoughtful film. The viewer feels compelled to try to understand the internal conversation that would going on in each of the three main characters. So much is unsaid. And chance encounters propel the story in an unexpected direction. The camera angles, especially in the car and up close, add to the sense that the viewer should understand the working of their minds.

A beautiful, poetic film with stunning images

I love this movie. Professor type gets himself involved in a not win type triad relationship. Behavior is so realistic you feel you can reach through the screen and touch these people. Adult situations but no hot scenes, Just life going on and you wonder all the time is there was a better way for these people who seem to deserve more.

Lejos de ser una historia convencional, Kiarostami nos da solo un vistazo en un día de dos personajesSus movimientos, sutilezas y diálogos, estamos solamente asomándonos a su vida, sin terminar de comprenderlaEl documental que viene en el material extra resalta mucho esta característicaOjo: Al ser un Criterion no cuenta con subtítulos en español solo en inglés

Das war für mich ein ganz seltsamer Film mit einem unverständlichen Ende. Der Film wird als "Der schönste, komischste, hintergründigste und tiefsinnigste Film der Hofer Filmtage" beschrieben. Komisch fand ich gar nichts.Hintergründig und tiefsinnige auch nicht. Es ist einfach nur eine langweilige Geschichte.

The story takes place in Japan, the cast and the language are Japanese. And this is only the second work from the highly acclaimed and admired Mr.Kiarostami that was made outside his native country Iran (the first one was "Certified Copy", another remarkable work-of-art). When it comes to the highly confusing --and also very magical-- world of human psyche, very few film makers are as perceptive and discerning as Mr. Kiarostami, especially when the issue is the human relations... This story has a very unusual triangle and every detail of the three individual's emotions, actions, and reactions are revealed as objectively and clearly possible.Should not be missed.

Très beau film. Fan de Kiarostami, je suis emballée. L'histoire, l'image, les acteurs: tout est beau. Le rythme, lent, me rappelle un de mes autres films préférés, Dolls.

In an interview accompanying this DVD, the film's director Abbas Kirostami talks about how it was only possible to make this story after he had acquired the necessary life experience. Perhaps this is a strategy that more directors need to pursue because in this realisation Mr Kirostami's understanding of the central character certainly pays off. Both the old man, Tadashi Okuno, and the beautiful object of desire, Rin Takanashi, turn in outstanding performances in a compelling but low-key story. While there is certainly a girl, there is no sordid exploitation of the female form, and while there are no guns, there is a hint of offscreen (imminent) violence. Instead Mr Kirostami allows the audience the space to apply their own understanding of the events that we see unfold. Using a Rashemonian device, we can see the events again with another implied meaning. In this film, as in all good cinema, you decide what you have just seen and what, ultimately, it all means.