Fear And Trembling

41 out of 41 people found the following review helpful:

a satirical observation of cultural corporate dynamics

blacksmoke from from London, England, 20th April, 2005

The US indie movie Secretary was essentially a dark comedy focusing on the burgeoning S&M relationship between a Secretary and her Boss. Whilst amusing, the film avoided any deeply analytical observation in preference to mild titillation. A one-trick pony. Fear and Trembling, however, abandons the potential for risqu? sexual politics and focuses on the higher intellectual observation of subconscious S&M dynamics within the office space. This is underpinned by the cultural differences of its lead character Sylvie Testud (playing Am?lie, a Belgian Translator) and her attempts to survive the highly complex cultural politics of the Japanese corporate environment. Initially slow paced, the film soon finds it's own beat and it's hard not to find yourself swept up with the chaotic maelstrom of disasters that suck Am?lie rapidly towards her inevitable decline... not only reaching the bottom rung of the corporate ladder, but creating another one below. Fear and Trembling succeeds where Secretary fails. If you have worked in even the smallest office environment you'll relate to Am?lie's predicament and the claustrophobic battle of psychology she endures with her fellow work-mates. Most surprisingly, this film's dry and sophisticated humour is superbly executed. The toxic sense of pleasure each character experiences in torturing Am?lie is subtle and beautifully observed and her survival is a triumph of will. I suspect many women, in particular, may relate to Am?lie's situation. Fear and Trembling is essential viewing on a fast-track to corporate promotion.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Satirical look at Japanese corporate culture

McClennan from from St Helens, 24th August, 2005

French/Japanese co-production about a Japanese born Belgian girl who returns to Japan after living in France for about 20 years. Amelie gets employment as an interpreter in a major Japanese corporation and we follow her trials in the company which get progressively worse as her ignorance of Japanese corporate etiquette land her in trouble, when she's only trying her best. A comedy (strongly satirical), the film certainly has its funny parts and isn't shy to poke fun with what I would have thought were risky jokes about Japan. Emphasising the clash of cultures, with a relatively imaginative script. Anyone with an interest in Japanese culture would probably get more from this than I did, but I still enjoyed it.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Great Fun, Highly Recommended

therealantoinedoinel from London, 15th September, 2005

If you like French movies and are at all interested in the cultural anomaly that is Japan, then this is the perfect movie for you. It was actually the perfect movie for me, so I may be talking to myself, but put it this way, if you want that fusion food experience, this is a delight.

When a young Belgian girl, fluent in and passionate for all things Japanese, finds work with a large corporation in Tokyo, she finds herself on a slippery slope of cultural misinterpretation.

This is one step beyond the TV series “The Office” and the movie “Office Space” into a bizarre corporate world where you must know the rules of the game to play. And you must know them in Japanese.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Lost in Translation

CharlieOrbit from Cornwall, 1st July, 2005

Can't help the comparison - the hero of this film is Belgian, but was born in Japan, living there until she was 5 years old.

Her decision to return as an adult and to work as part of a large corporation exposes her to cultural differences and matters of formality and honour within Japanese working society that give her unpleasant insights to the culture.

Her adoration of a fellow co-worker and pride and honour see her through boredom and attempts to break her Western spirit. Very watchable.

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Fear & Trembling

nell4tune from from Feltham, 17th October, 2008

This is a very really interesting movie. This film tells you what alot of us do not dare say but thik or even suspect it but do not say it out loud for fear of being misunderstood. The writer of this book has put it in such a classic & subtle way that she is justified in writting the book as not only speaks it like a Japanese but was also brought up there. Her happy childhood in Japan is not mirrored in her adult years when she returns. This movie puts this on a different perspective of the Japanese and it makes you understand how the Japanese regard their relationship with honour and their employers. What better setting than in the office which shows that it is their basis of their life, family comes next. The Japanese regard honour and office is synomous to each other. Brilliant movie. Takes a while to understand and patience is needed but watch to the end and you will be left slightly gob-smacked. Thought provoking and very fascinating. A must see movie.

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Worth watching

A Customer from York, 1st May, 2008

I had read the book beforehand so I knew whta to expect. I enjoyed this film but this might just be because I love most French films and I have a fixation with Japanese culture. So I'm not so sure about recommeding it to everyone. Read the other reviews, they are really good to decide if it's a film for you or not.

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worth a look,in the right frame of mind

filmhound from from London, 28th October, 2007

This film is very well made and easy to watch but it is a little hard to swallow. You keep finding yourself asking 'Is this likley?' If you look at it as more of a characature of Japanese lifestyle rather than a an actual portrayal then it hold together better. A clue that this is intended is in the way the main players are offered to the viewer. The European girl is too mousey the Japanese girl to perfect,the dept manager too harsh the corp pres to nice. Once you get it into your mind that this is all intentional and done to emphasise the cultural differences the film is very watchable, watch it at face value and it becomes more and more frustrating. Good direction and great writting,well worth a look.

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Quirky but hilarious

Love Movies from London, 3rd May, 2007

I absolutely loved this movie. The movie is about a French Belgian girl who grew up in Japan and returns because of her childhood love of the culture. Anyone with an interest in the Japanese culture will love it. Its cliched, but thats what makes it so funny. All the idiosyncrasies of the Japanese culture combined with those of a small office culture make for laugh out loud moments.

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