By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Starring: Denden | Rin Takanashi | Ryo Kase | Ryota Nakanishi | Tadashi Okuno
Country: france, japan
Year: 2013
Running time: 109
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2459022/combined
Bruce says: “Kiarostami’s films have been on serious filmgoers’ lists for a long time now. Interest in his work began when he was strictly an Iranian director documenting the Iranian cultural landscape through his narrative works such as A TASTE OF CHERRY, THE WIND WILL CARRY US, AND LIFE GOES ON, and WHERE IS MY FRIEND’S HOUSE? In 2010 he made his first non-Iranian film, CERTIFIED COPY. LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE follows that pattern, proving Kiarostami understands human nature as much as he does the culture that is the backdrop for the drama. Set in modern Tokyo, LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE is a quirky short story put to film.
“‘I’m not lying to you…we have things to talk about,’ a female voice is heard. She goes on to talk about her exams and grandmother who has come to Tokyo to see her and who she has been avoiding for the whole day. When we hear a man barking ‘No phones in toilets,’ it becomes clear that there is more to this phone conversation than was originally obvious. The girl on the phone is Akiko (Rin Takanashi) and she is a bargirl. She is trying to make excuses to her boyfriend. She argues her case for the night off but the bar manager has other plans. Soon Akiko is in a car on her way to a client. Her phone rings and it is her grandmother once again. Her grandmother is waiting at the train station and has found a picture of a girl who looks just like her.
“The client is the elderly Professor Takashi (Tadashi Okuno), a man of letters. He has place settings on the table and has prepared dinner for the two of them. Akiko excuses herself and goes into the bedroom to ‘freshen up.’ When the professor peers into the bedroom he finds Akiko undressed and ready for action. He tells her to dress and come to dinner but when he checks the bedroom a while later, Akiko is fast asleep. The following morning the professor offers to drive Akiko to school. When her boyfriend calls, Akiko says that she is on her way to class. When they arrive, her boyfriend (Ryo Kase) rushes to the car. Akiko introduces the professor to her boyfriend and things begin to take shape, and not in a form to Akiko’s liking. Can she keep her second life secret for long?
“While I’d love to say more about LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE, doing so would be a disservice to anyone who sees it in the future. I can hardly wait to have a dialogue with those who do. 5 cats
“(LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.)”
Diane says: “Kiarostami goes Tokyo as a college student/call girl is assigned to an elderly prof. Not as mysterious as I’d been led to believe by reviews (a couple of the characters don’t know who everyone is, but the viewer does). What struck me most was the sound–constant traffic noise, feet on metal stairs, by passers yammering, even during the most quiet and intimate scenes. Kiarostami makes sure that we can hear a key opening a car door lock, not for any particular reason except that it is. The last scene seems to be a climax of sound rushing in, no longer innocuous. 3 cats”