Abbas Kiarostami is a genius. That we know. The Iranian auteur is also a natural born joker and his lastest wheeze (setting his film in Japan) almost throws up something magical, here.
The blasted, coy heroine of this gently paced drama is Akiko (the stunning Rin Takanashi) a student who dabbles in prostitution and gets aggro from her suspicious, blue-collar fiancé, Noriaki (Ryo Kase). Both characters are fascinating. What a shame that Kiarostami introduces a third figure into the mix, tolerant, lonely professor Takashi (Tadashi Okuno). We're all familiar with the tart with a heart. Takashi belongs to a less common, but equally insidious, breed: the trick who's a brick. The script flings the trio together and Kiarostami teases us with the promise of a sweet ending. But if you can't swallow Takashi, you won't care either way.
