An obsessive-compulsive Japanese librarian living in Bangkok spends most of his days contemplating suicide in his apartment. His life changes when he witnesses the death of a young girl and becomes acquainted with her elder sister.
There is some lovely filmmaking here, and nice surprises.
– Wesley Morris,
Boston Globe,
20 Aug 2004
fresh:
An absorbing series of intricately planned shots that play like installation art at a modern museum.
– Michael Booth,
Denver Post,
17 Sep 2004
fresh:
The film has a precise, slow pace that allows us to get to know these quiet, quirky characters, and an imaginatively experimental approach to their thoughts and dreams.
– G. Allen Johnson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
17 Sep 2004
fresh:
[Reflects] the growing interpenetration of many individual national cinemas into a cultural conglomerate that reflects the irresistible tide of cinematic globalization.
– Andrew Sarris,
New York Observer,
1 Oct 2004
fresh:
It's an offbeat romance that defies easy labeling, recommendable as a film buff's pleasure and a semi-audacious art-house curio.