Struggled a bit with the story's throughline and tone.
I might be misremembering but the Moby Dick stuff felt pretty heavy-handed.
While the solution to the plot ties in nicely to earlier development, the resolution in and of itself feels half-baked and quite inelegant.
I enjoyed the framing from the perspective of a local food critic who holds much reverence for Jiro.
From his cultural framing of the phenomenon, to his personal relationship with Jiro, to the in-person dining experience he brings guests to Jiro's for, it was a good platform from which to peer into the experience.
In the Mood for Love is such a good title for this film. It's so drenched in atmosphere, drenched in the sensuality of unresolved tension and unmet glances, and drenched in desire smothered by the confines of the frame.
Wong talks about the surreptitious framing, placing the audience in the scene as a nosy neighbour, homage to the social circumstance in which he grew up.
The atmosphere of the film luxuriates in the time period, which clearly meant a lot…
I guess Ryan Gosling keeps getting parts like this because he's got good sad eyes. Can't wait for Ken to realise he's just a mass manufactured piece of plastic token boyfriend.
Post-Barbie edit:
Call it half right with the Ken prediction?
