2012 Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
An old man and a young woman meet in Tokyo. She knows nothing about him, he thinks he knows her. He welcomes her into his home, she offers him her body. But the web that is woven between them in the space of twenty four hours bears no relation to the circumstances of their encounter.
ライク・サムワン・イン・ラブ, Raiku samuwan in rabu, Melkein rakastunut, Como se estivesse apaixonado, Mesl-e yek ashegh, 사랑에 빠진 것처럼
Abbas Kiarostami’s latest film continues to explore the themes and obsessions that have characterised the filmmaker’s career. Continuing to work outside his native Iran - this time in the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo - Kiarostami once again delves into the slippery subject of truth and identity in this languid and elusive chamber piece.
Like Someone in Love is a simple film on the surface - a story about a young sociology student and part-time escort, Akiko, who develops a relationship with a retired professor over a two-day period - yet dig beyond the veneer and the film reveals its complex riches. In many ways it is a companion piece to Kiarostami’s last film, Certified Copy, but one I found far…
"...but violence in society interests me."
Probably Kiarostami's best and most focused movie. Here's another one to chalk up to digital cinema: because of the sharpness and shallower depth of field of most digital cameras, digital captures reflections much better than 35mm. (see also: Road to Nowhere, Jersey Boys). And there are reflections galore in this movie, identities constantly shifting and on the verge of collapsing on one another. Kiarostami's venture into urban spaces also lapses into his car sequences, and reflections feature much more prominently and more effectively than in Certified Copy. Reflections are everywhere, the city-scapes of Tokyo are inescapable, figuring here almost expressionistically; IMO two car sequences, the first being the taxi one, the second being the…
Not that Kiarostami's ever been a "Hello, here is your narrative" kind of guy, but Like Someone In Love's especially perverse in terms of foregrounding non-essential narrative information. Phones ring and lead to useless, annoying conversations; as a taxi circles a train station plaza so Akiko (Rin Takanashi) can catch a glimpse of her grandmother, a van pulls into the POV shot and inches along with maddening consistency, persistently blocking a view of the old lady. The opening sequence is just shot-countershot, but you spend the whole first shot trying to figure out who's speaking, only gradually determining that the voice you're hearing isn't attached to anyone you see but someone behind the camera, or maybe somewhere else entirely. Mise-en-scene…
Abbas Kiarostami continues his global escapades away from his native Iran with Like Someone in Love, an elusive piece of contemplative cinema set in Tokyo that serves as a companion film to the excellent Certified Copy. The auteur brings back the familiar themes of alienation, the feeling of loneliness in a big city, the clever mistaken identity schtick from his previous effort, and of course ambiguity. I’m highly impressed with the direction Kiarostami is taking with these non-Iranian films of his, all of which happen to share a thematic quality that is playfully light-hearted yet at the same time quite beguiling and dark. His latest is a compelling addition to this new phase of his illustrious career.
Rin Takanashi plays…
Takashi: "The young woman is teaching the parrot to speak."
Akiko: "I always thought the parrot was teaching the young woman to speak."
Kiarostami is a master at exploring the subjective nature of art and the constant clash between fantasy and reality. "Like Someone In Love" contains (at least) two exquisite cinematic sequences, none more sublime than Akiko's regret-filled, late-night taxi ride through Tokyo. Hat tip to Josh Larsen: great litmus test for how engrossed in the film you are is to see how hard you strain to spot grandma at the train station.
Whether it's in a restaurant, in a taxi, in the professor's Volvo, or as a reflection on a television screen, Akiko is always shown behind a glass. It almost looks like she was imprisoned, locked in her own transparent cage, built by the collective effort of her guilt and shame for being a student prostitute.
Inside the taxi, Akiko looked out of the window and saw neon signs passing by her, from the outside, the lights were reflected onto her face as if they're closely watching her too. No dialogue in this particular scene, but you can tell the girl was screaming for help. Let me out! Let me out! Akiko felt like a tourist in her own city, out…
Surprisingly straightforward by Kiarostami's standards....maybe too much so, as it ends up feeling a bit slight and kinda pointless, but it's possible that I'm just missing some deeper meaning (although this is the rare AK film where that doesn't feel like the case). Either way, it's still a strangely engrossing watch....it's cool to see AK do his usual schtick (lots of chatting and/or driving) in Japan for a change, and I was pretty into the two main characters. Loved the early scenes with the grandmother and Tokyo at night too....no idea where I stand on that ending though.
"I'm not lying."
These are the first words we hear from Akiko, our protagonist, in Abbas Kiarostami's 2012 film Like Someone in Love. We don't, however, see Akiko say these words. In fact, it takes longer than expected for us to see her at all, let alone get a close-up shot. We know that she's a call girl who apparently has some "important" clients on her list, but we only find this out through context clues; we're never directly told that she's a call girl, even when she's talking with her employer and a fellow call girl. There's a lot of talking in the first 15 minutes of this movie, but we're denied certain basic information. When Akiko yells at…
This plays at a lot of art house theaters and festival runs which is wild because ultimately I wondered what even was the point? Is it because it's one of Kiarostami's last? Who knows.
Two minutes into this movie you know you're in the hands of a master director. Visually its incredible without being flashy, loved the subtle use of reflections to keep people in frame, and the sound design is so good .. just sounds of the city outside would build up the tension! Sweet story over all , great ending, loved it!
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