Tenten

This is basically a bonding film with two guys, where they build a relationship by going from point A to point B. And for the most part it's a fascinating and intriguing journey that has a lot of reference to Japanese culture and entertainment. The plot revolves around a guy that is in debt and gets in trouble with the debt collector. Later the debt collector gives him a solution to the problem, by going on a walk with him to a specific destination he would give him a lot of money. The main reason that interested me on the journey was the question why the debt collector would choose that man to go on a walk with him. I really liked the style and direction of this movie, especially with it's awkward scenarios and awkward humor in this. It pretty much was a engaging movie all the way through, mainly because of the direction of it all. To anyone who enjoys watching Japanese style and humor while going from point A to point B without it being dull, should check this movie out.

8/10

It was just a simple walk in Tokyo. But somehow it was funny, quirky and touching. You never know who you will meet in your life. Some meetings, even though short, just bring magic to your life.

It's a charming and low-key-funny little film. I quite enjoyed it.

Does it make sense to say that a movie is predictably unpredictable? And is that a bad thing?

This is one of those movies where for some reason two guys who don't know each other go on a journey, usually against the will of one or both. In this movie, a middle aged torpedo bribes a college kid to follow him around Tokyo. Fukuhara has decided to turn himself into the police, and wants to wander the streets of his town one last time before he goes to prison. He meets hapless college kid Fumiya when he's sent to collect some debt of his. Fukuhara offers to give Fumiya the money he sorely needs in exchange for company. This all happens early, and the majority of the movie is following their walkabout.

They walk through several parts of Tokyo while embarking on random quests born out of their conversations and random curiousness. They meet a bunch of characters on their way, and their journey is filled with weird and silly situations. They go on detours, try new food, get in a fight, and for a stretch they have to pretend to be father and son. There is a lot of humor to be found, but also a good heart, and by the end Fukuhara and Fumiya are much closer to each other than they even realize. The city itself supplies a lot of charm as they move through a few of its many wards, and you really get a sense of the diversity of such a huge metropolis.

The movie progresses like you'd expect an unlikely-buddy/journey movie to. You've probably seen the "first they don't know/like each other much and 'the other guy' has weird habits but hey they've found common ground and now they're friends" thing a dozen times, but as always with movies, it's all in the delivery. The laughs are frequent and come from the weirdest places, and the way the guys bond in this is deeper and more complex than your average (american) movie, which makes it more poignant.

Perhaps my love of silliness and randomness, and my limited knowledge of Japanese culture and filmmaking makes Tenten a funnier, more unpredictable experience to me, but I'd wager anyone who sees this will find something to enjoy.

It was more than twenty years ago the first time we went out to Japan to see our son, Yokohama and Tokyo. I thought that probably, I could walk around in Yokohama but I wasn't sure about Tokyo. And than I found out that the subway was great but I good really walk around easily as well. So with Joe Odagiri and Tomokazu Miura in this film it was wonderful with them both walking around. We realise that Joe leads a lazy life and built up a lot of debt and Tomokazu was the loan shark. There is only a little story (maybe like a killing) and then they go walking across Tokyo to get to a Police Station (maybe). It is a splendid tale and it is rather funny or amusing or even rather charming. There are some very odd moments and certainly it makes we smile. There is an old lady and her bike not happy but has to go around them and then there is a car. There is another old lady at the end and the guys are trying to walk backwards so that they may get younger. She thinks it silly but she tries anyway. There is much eating with noodles, ramen and some curry that might not be so spicy but it is rather crazy with some mayonnaise. Both the actors are good and I find it was rather moving and unquestionably something very different.