Watch Fear and Trembling For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely Fantastic

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I enjoyed some of the movies moments, particularly the scenes related to the calendars. But on the whole, the mid-level managers reminded me of a Japanese supervisor I once had in a company I worked in, in Silicon Valley. I was once staying late, doing bench work when a white mid-level manager was showing the building and workspace to a visitor. At some point, the mid-level manager asked if anyone had a thermometer. This was a singularly odd request, but I just so happened to have one so I offered it to him. Instead of being grateful, or even giving me a polite "thank you", he icily told me it wasn't calibrated.??? The next day, my jap supervisor called me into his office and erupted in rage over my "transgression" the day before with Don, the obnoxious impolite imbecile who was angry because I didn't give him a thermometer that came out of Apollo's as s. Perhaps I should have shoved it up his own. In any event, I came within an inch of being fired, but it was only my absolute self-control that defused the situation with these two losers, Vic and Don. Vic finally resigned, hopefully he reviewed his life and realizing it was meaningless, he opted for early suicide. Don still works for the company.As someone else has commented, it's a mindset such as the one revealed in this film that explains why the economy of that country is essentially in the toilet. Because it belongs there. Perhaps also, it is time for those wonderful figures from Japanese mythology, the fat man and the little boy, to visit them again.

This was supposed to be a comedy, but instead it is two hours that alternate between boredom and absurdity.The hero of the story is a well-trained, educated and skilled translator who -- instead of acting like an adult -- allows herself to become the whipping girl of a group of sadistic bosses.If any company like this actually exists in Japan, or anywhere else, I pity the poor workers. But I cannot waste my sympathy on anyone who chooses to stay and put up with the abuse and humiliation like this protagonist does.And frankly, the acting consisted primarily of Sylvie Testud looking either bewildered or blank. Even the "fantasy" interludes didn't add interest.A cross cultural workplace may a goldmine of comedic ideas, but this movie didn't manage to emerge with even a single nugget worth watching.

Having been a foreigner working in a huge Tokyo office, much the same as the character Amelie, when I saw this film at the San Francisco Film Festival, I was hooked from the first scene onward. Having been denied attending the office Christmas Party because I was "part- time".... No, I am here 9-5, Monday to Friday! "But you are a foreigner, so you are considered part-time". 250 people went to the party. No foreigners....Then, when the boss came 'round to ask which Saturdays I would like to come in and work, I asked "Do all full-time employees have to come in on some Saturdays?""Oh yes, we do.""Well then, since I am only 'part-time', I will not be able to come to work any Saturdays. Sorry...."This was a rare moment of zen revenge, which is what you will hope for when Amelie is subjected to life in HER Tokyo office. No, this is not Lost In Translation, which apparently did not enthrall the foreigners who were living in Tokyo, by the way. More like L.I.T. on steroids.This is a fable, based on reality. Tokyo can be intense. I never flew above the city, but I got twisted enough to wish it.By the way, the director told our audience that most of the film was done in an office in Paris, and that the lead actress did not know a word of Japanese before the film. This shocked me, as I was quite impressed with her pronunciation and speed. I thought she spoke Japanese, and felt humbled by her skill...To all the GAIJIN out there - see this film! For others, I would suggest Japanophiles and quirky movie lovers should go, and the Hollywood action types should pass.

Hi all, I've watched this movie and enjoyed it as a Japanese born in Tokyo and lived there for ~30 years (though my wife, also Japanese, was p***ed off.;-) Just a short comment on questions like "can this be real?" - my answer is clear and obvious "no". It could possibly happen to _Japanese_ female employees in a few nasty companies 30 years ago, but is simply impossible to "Westerners" as they are specially respected. Whether this is good or bad is another question.By the way, some of the text appearing at the official web site (http://www.cinemaguild.com/fearandtrembling/) as background decoration actually looks like Korean or something. It is definitely not Japanese. I'm not talking about the Katakana characters outside the flash window, but the white background inside the flash window itself, though it is very hard to see on some monitors.