5/5 A must see film for those who want to understand Japanese
  by A. Bernstein
This film is both funny and it teaches you a lot about the Japanese way of life and the huge difference between it and a Western culture. Recommended for people who want to learn about Japan, but it's also a very entertaining film.

5/5 Beautifully developed, satisfying little move (rare!)
  by Julia M. Dufaj
I came to this movie with no real knowledge of the working environment in Japan. It was quickly apparent to me, however, that the characters were drawn as delightful hyperboles that only enhanced the genius of this superb little movie. I guess some people need stark realism in every movie they see. As for me, I like a well-crafted story that is well acted and that takes me somewhere I've never been before, and FEAR AND TREMBLING certainly fits that bill.

The movie was so beautifully developed that I was afraid it was going to let me down in the end. It didn't. I would not have changed a single moment and found myself fully satisfied, which rarely happens in movie watching. I saw it online at a movie rental site and gave it 5 stars there too, another thing I rarely do.

One hundred seven minutes of pure enjoyment.

3/5 Exaggerations and Omissions
  by Andreas Gregoriades (Cyprus)
I made a genuine effort to understand the creation of the working environment stereotypes in Japan through this film, but I must say that I only identified extreme exaggerations and serious omissions.
I am European who lived and worked in Japan for 16 years and during those years I made an effort to understand the cultural differences and working ethics between a European company and a Japanese one.
I do not believe that a girl, perfect in the Japanese language, brought up in Japan, was not aware on how to integrate in a Japanese working team; after all it is not as difficult, although challenging, as it was portrait in this film.
Where were her usual "Office Ladies" team with their support and the little gossip, where were those after-working hours drinks with the fellow workers and so many other elements?
The after-working hours drink is a way to integrate and become a member of the team.
In the company I was working we had foreigners who were able to integrate well because they have been part of the team.
I also found the stereotypes of the Department manager and his superior as extremes in their roles and behavior.
I also found the contrast between bulling a young employee and thinking to promote her within 6 months of practically no performance as a paradox.
If the film was supposed to be funny, it failed to a great degree.
If the film was supposed to present the working environment in a Japanese company, it is short of expectations
If the film was to be a new "Lost in Translation" it failed again because Lost in Translation was a foreigner's relationship that incidentally was taking place in Japan and the Japanese stereotypes were complementary to their experience in a funny and pleasant way.



5/5 Not 'Lost in Translation'
  by DekinBluze (Kanagawa, Japan)
If you want a taste of what corporate culture in Japan is like, and some insight into the old saw 'east is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet', this is a great film to watch and talk about with your gaijin' friends who have lived and worked in Nihon. But, a warning, some Japanese friends did not like it at all, and a few were offended by it.

5/5 YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK....or can you?
  by Margaux Paschke (New York)
Usually when I read a book and then see a movie, I end up disappointed. Not in this case. The film is an amazing rendition of the novel that remains true. The movie runs a little under two hours and the editing from the original story are fine.

It is a story of a young Belgium woman (Amelie) who yearns to go back to the spiritual peace that she experienced as a small child growing up in Japan. She learns how to speak and write impeccable Japanese. She wants to become Japanese, in manner of speaking. Amelie manages to score a one year contract with a top Japanse corporation and thinks she is well on her way to obtaining her objective of becoming one with the the Japanese culture. Being western, this is impossible of course, and her naive foray into blending is considered an insult not a compliment by her employers.

Despite all of her knowledge and attempts to become one with her environment, it is not allowed by the Japense corporation (or society). We see some sections that applaud her efforts and realize that the old ways of doing things need to be changed and do their best to help her (or any western influence) but they are doomed to fail. These two cultures are diametrically opposed and will never mesh, the film seems to say.

At the end Amelie has come to realize that she is by nature, a westerner despite her desire to be "Japanese." The best she can do is serve out her one year contract to save face, a Japanese principle.

More importantly, I thought it was about self-actualization and learning to achieve peace from within instead of looking for external sources.